OxTalks will soon move to the new Halo platform and will become 'Oxford Events.' There will be a need for an OxTalks freeze. This was previously planned for Friday 14th November – a new date will be shared as soon as it is available (full details will be available on the Staff Gateway).
In the meantime, the OxTalks site will remain active and events will continue to be published.
If staff have any questions about the Oxford Events launch, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
Granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) blockade and that of its receptor are effective in inflammatory arthritis models and rheumatoid arthritis trials. We have discovered a GM-CSF/CCL17 pathway in monocytes/macrophages. The putative role of this pathway in both inflammatory arthritis and osteoarthritis (OA) pain and disease, including in obesity-associated OA, will be discussed. Ideas on the mode of action of CCL17, including its possible involvement in fibrosis/fibroblast biology, will also be presented. In contrast to the well-recognized chemotactic role of CCL17 (e.g. preferential Th2 cell chemotaxis), these data reveal a lymphocyte-independent, non-chemotactic and algesic role of CCL17 in arthritis and possibly other indications, and suggest that it could be a potential therapeutic target in inflammatory pain and disease.
