The culture microenvironment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis synovial fibroblasts is favorable for endochondral bone formation through BMP4 and repressed by chondrocytes.
Megan M SimondsAmanda R SchlefmanSuzanne M McCahanKathleen E SullivanCarlos D RoseAnne Marie C BresciaPublished in: Pediatric rheumatology online journal (2021)
JFLS are chondrocyte-like, and Ch-conditioned media can abrogate this phenotype. The addition of exogenous BMP4 causes JFLS-Ch to restore this chondrocyte-like phenotype, suggesting that JFLS create a microenvironment favorable for endochondral bone formation, thereby contributing to joint growth disturbances in juvenile idiopathic arthritis.