Seminars in arthritis and rheumatism
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Semin. Arthritis Rheum. · Dec 2013
ReviewP2X7R: a potential key regulator of acute gouty arthritis.
Acute gouty arthritis is an inflammatory disease resulting from the precipitation of long-term hyperuricemia-induced monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in joints, which stimulates the production of interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) and initiates an inflammatory reaction. However, some patients having MSU crystals in the joints never develop acute gouty arthritis, indicating that other predisposing factors are required for the disease onset. This review described the mechanism of production of IL-1β by MSU crystals and other possible factors during a gout attack. ⋯ We hypothesize that acute gouty arthritis is induced by two synergistic effects; one is the stimulation of MSU crystals and the other is the activation of P2X7R signaling pathways by extracellular ATP changes, which together lead to the production of IL-1β and the initiation of acute gouty arthritis. This hypothesis will provide a new avenue for the prevention and treatment of acute gouty arthritis.