As our thinking of self/nonself proved in retrospect to be simplistic, and the gap between infection and trauma begins to narrow, potential new scenarios arise in the pathogenesis of inflammatory joint disease. Could exacerbation of AS after trauma reflect such processes? Could chronic inflammatory events in the skin, with local tissue injury, set the stage for psoriatic arthritis? Could the mucosal injury of Salmonella gastroenteritis or Chlamydia urethritis invoke these pathways? Could all arthritis be reactive? These are fascinating questions. As the landscape is changing, we should stay tuned.
Dr. Inman is senior scientist in the Division of Genetics and Development at Toronto Western Research Institute and professor of medicine and immunology at the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada.
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