Quantification of monocyte accumulation in psoriatic joints
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The quantification of monocyte accumulation and tracing tissue macrophage ontogeny in psoriatic synovial joints.
IRAS ID
304702
Contact name
Charlotte Summers
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Psoriasis is a skin condition that causes red scaly patches on skin and affects 1/50 in the UK. Of these, 1/3 develop psoriatic arthritis. This causes joints to swell and become painful, limiting independence, causing joint damage, and other health problems. In psoriatic arthritis, the immune system that normally fights infection damages the joint tissues. Immune cells called mononuclear phagocytes are responsible for coordinating the immune response and are important in psoriatic arthritis. Many of the cells important for inflammation in arthritis are believed to arise from cells in the bloodstream that migrate into the joint.
This research aims to understand how a type of mononuclear phagocyte called monocytes migrate into the joint to cause psoriatic arthritis. We can do this by purifying monocytes from patients’ blood, labelling them with a small amount of radioactive “tag” and then re-injecting them into the same donor. Sensitive scanners allow us to follow the labelled cells as they exit the bloodstream and into the body’s tissues. We can then sample joint tissue and trace which cells related to inflammation have come from the blood. This will allow us to understand the key pathways that govern the movement of cells from the blood into the joints in arthritis.
Knowing how cells migrate from the bloodstream and into the joint is important in understanding how they give rise to the cells responsible for joint swelling, pain, and damage. This should lead to benefits to patients in multiple ways including identifying those likely to develop arthritis so they can be treated earlier. It may also allow new targeted drugs to be developed so that treatments work better and side effects are reduced. In addition, these findings may help to understand other diseases where these mononuclear phagocytes are important.
REC name
East of England - Essex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/EE/0228
Date of REC Opinion
3 Nov 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion