Carlos López-Larrea
Editor
Hospital Central de Asturias
Oveido, Spain

Roberto Díaz-Peña
Assistant Editor
Hospital Central de Asturias
Oviedo, Spain

About this Book

It is now over ten years since we edited the first edition of HLA-B27 in the Development of Spondyloarthropathies (SpA). It is obvious that over this period an enormous amount of information concerning SpA and HLA-B27 has accumulated, and this has been reflected in the knowledge of molecular mechanism of the spondyloarthropathies. Discussion for such a book took initial form at the outstanding 4th Gent Symposium on SpA in October 2006, but was not formally commissioned by Landes Bioscience until early 2007. Molecular Mechanisms of Spondyloarthropathies aims to synthesize this growing knowledge and present all the current studies concerning the basic research of SpA. Over the last decade, enormous progress has been made in the understanding of the molecular and cellular processes that lead to disease pathology. Recognition of the pathways involved in the pathogenic mechanisms of disease and the potential to target specific immune effector functions have opened the door to a wide range of innovative treatment opportunities for the SpA. Thus, we believe that the understanding of the specific molecular mechanisms involved would help to design highly specific drugs in the future. The contributors are among the best in their field and reflect the state of the art of research and current opinion of rheumatologists and immunologists.

Table of Contents

1. Clinical Assessment in the Spondyloarthropathies
Ruth Wittoek and Herman Mielants

2. Imaging in Spondyloarthritis
Walter P. Maksymowych

3. Spondyloarthritis, Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH) and Chondrocalcinosis
Jácome Brügues Armas, Ana Rita Couto and Bruno Filipe Bettencourt

4. The Enthesis Organ Concept and its Relevance to the Spondyloarthropathies
Michael Benjamin and Dennis McGonagle

5. Synovial and Mucosal Immunopathology in Spondyloarthritis
Bernard Vandooren, Paul P. Tak and Dominique Baeten

6. Bone Loss in the Spondyloarthropathies: Role of Osteoclast, Rankl, Rank and Opg in the Spondyloarthropathies
Allen P. Anandarajah and Edward M. Schwarz

7. RankL/Rank as Key Factors for Osteoclast Development and Bone Loss in Arthropathies
Andreas Leibbrandt and Josef M. Penninger

8. Bone Formation Versus Bone Resorption in Ankylosing Spondylitis
Georg Schett

9. Biomarkers in Spondyloarthropathies
Chun‑Hsiung Chen, David Tak Yan Yu and Chung‑Tei Chou

10. Therapy of Spondyloarthritides
Jürgen Braun

11. Genomewide Screens in Ankylosing Spondylitis
Matthew A. Brown

12. Subtypes of HLA‑B27: History and Implications in the Pathogenesis of Ankylosing Spondylitis
John D. Reveille

13. Implications of Structural and Thermodynamic Studies of Hla‑B27 Subtypes Exhibiting Differential Association with Ankylosing Spondylitis
Andreas Ziegler, Bernhard Loll, Rolf Misselwitz and Barbara Uchanska‑Ziegler

14. HLA‑B27‑Bound Peptide Repertoires: Their Nature, Origin and Pathogenetic Relevance
José A. López de Castro

15. Biochemical Features of Hla‑B27 and Antigen Processing
Simon J. Powis, Susana G. Santos and Antony N. Antoniou

16. HLA‑B27 Misfolding and Spondyloarthropathies
Robert A. Colbert, Monica L. DeLay, Gerlinde Layh‑Schmitt and Dawn P. Sowders

17. HLA‑B27 and Host‑Pathogen Interaction
Anna S. Sahlberg, Kaisa Granfors and Markus A. Penttinen

18. Animal Models of Spondyloarthritis
Joel D. Taurog

19. T-Cell Responses Against Viral and Self‑Epitopes and Hla‑B27 Subtypes Differentially Associated with Ankylosing Spondylitis
María T. Fiorillo and Rosa Sorrentino

20. Dendritic Cell: T-Cell Interactions in Spondyloarthritis
J.S. Hill Gaston, Lorna B. Jarvis, Libin Zhang and Jane C. Goodall

21. The Role of B27 Heavy Chain Dimer Immune Receptor Interactions in Spondyloarthritis
Simon Kollnberger and Paul Bowness

22. KIR Genes and Their Role in Spondyloarthropathies
Roberto Díaz‑Peña, Miguel Ángel Blanco-Gelaz and Carlos López‑Larrea

23. Innate Immunity of Spondyloarthritis: The Role of Toll‑Like Receptors
Robert D. Inman