The role of TNFα in rheumatoid arthritis and progress of anti-TNFα agents

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) is a pleiotropic cytokine that mediates diverse biological effects, including apoptosis, cell proliferation, differentiation, proinflammatory reaction and immunoregulation.TNFα is known to play a critical role in the pathogenic mechanism of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Binding of TNFα to TNF receptor (TNFR) results in transduction of cellular signal.Through complex signaling cascades and networks, transcription factors NF-κβ and AP-1 are activated to regulate target gene expression,resulting in joint inflammation and damage.Drugs targeting TNFα have been developed to reduce the injurious effects of proinflammatory cytokine and have proved to be safe and effective in the treatment of patients with RA.This article reviews the role of TNFα in pathogenic mechanism of RA and recent progress of antiTNFα agents. Key words: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha;  Arthritis, rheumatoid;  Anti-TNFα agents