Annals of medicine
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The term fibromyalgia describes a complex syndrome characterized by pain amplification, musculoskeletal discomfort, and systemic symptoms. Although its existence has been controversial, nearly all rheumatologists now accept fibromyalgia as a distinct diagnostic entity. In fact, in the United States it is the third or fourth most common reason for rheumatology referral. Exciting new insights into the aetiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of fibromyalgia will be reviewed.
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Receptors for many of the cytokines functioning in the haematopoietic system belong to the class I cytokine receptor family. In most cases these receptors share common signal transducing receptor components in the same family, which explains the functional redundancy of haematopoietic cytokines. Interleukin-6 and related cytokines, interleukin-11, leukaemia inhibitory factor, oncostatin M, ciliary neurotrophic factor and cardiotrophin-1, are all pleiotrophic, from the haematopoietic to the nervous system, and exhibit overlapping biological activities. ⋯ In these receptor complexes, gp130 and ligand-specific chains possess no intrinsic tyrosine kinase domain but are associated with cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases. Ligand stimulation triggers homo- or heterodimerization of gp130, leading to activation of the associated cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases and subsequent modification of transcription factors. This paper reviews the recent progress in the study of gp130 and the background information from biomedical and biochemical viewpoints.