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Review
. 2022 Jan;29(1):402-410.
doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.09.014. Epub 2021 Sep 13.

Exploring the role of cathepsin in rheumatoid arthritis

Tapan Behl  1 , Swati Chadha  1 , Aayush Sehgal  1 , Sukhbir Singh  1 , Neelam Sharma  1 , Rajwinder Kaur  1 , Saurabh Bhatia  2   3 , Ahmed Al-Harrasi  2 , Sridevi Chigurupati  4 , Ahmed Alhowail  5 , Simona Bungau  6
Affiliations
Review

Exploring the role of cathepsin in rheumatoid arthritis

Tapan Behl et al. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease which is marked by leukocytes infiltration inside synovial tissue, joints and also inside synovial fluid which causes progressive destruction of joint cartilage. There are numerous genetical and lifestyle factors, responsible for rheumatoid arthritis. One such factor can be cysteine cathepsins, which act as proteolytic enzymes. These proteolytic enzyme gets activated at acidic pH and are found in lysosomes and are also termed as cysteine proteases. These proteases belong to papain family and have their elucidated role in musculoskeletal disorders. Numerous cathepsins have their targeted role in rheumatoid arthritis. These proteases are secreted through various cell types which includes matrix metalloproteases and papain like cysteine proteases. These proteases can potentially lead to bone and cartilage destruction which causes an immune response in case of inflammatory arthritis.

Keywords: Cathepsin; Cysteine protease; Inflammation; Matrix-metalloprotease; Rheumatoid arthritis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Process of accumulation of cytokines, osteoclast, interleukins and macrophages can lead to pannus formation which can further lead to cartilage destruction in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Depicting the role of various cathepsins inside human body under normal physiological conditions and their action in different diseases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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