Millar, Neal L, McInnes, Ian B, Kolbinger, Frank, Raulf, Friedrich, Akbar, Moeed, Li, Yufei, Beckmann, Nicolau, Accart Gris, Nathalie, Leupin, Olivier, Calonder, Claudio, Schieker, Matthias, Kneissel, Michaela, Bruns, Christian, Siegel, Richard and Weber, Eckhard (2025) Targeting the IL-17A pathway for therapy in early-stage tendinopathy. Rheumatic & musculoskeletal diseases open., 11 (1). e004729. ISSN 2056-5933

Abstract

Objectives: Tendinopathy is a frequent clinical problem and represents an extraordinary health economic and socioeconomic burden with high unmet medical needs. Recent clinical evidence suggests blockade of interleukin 17A (IL-17A) for tendinopathy therapy. The present preclinical study elucidates the biological mechanisms of IL-17A pathway stimulation and blockade in tendinopathy.
Methods: We explored whether IL-17A and other IL-17 family members are differentially expressed in biopsies of healthy, early-stage and late-stage tendinopathic human rotator cuff tendons using RT-qPCR. IL-17 pathway signature genes in healthy human tendon-derived cells were identified following IL-17A stimulation using AmpliSeq RNA. The molecular, structural and functional consequences of IL-17A pathway stimulation were explored in healthy human tendon-derived cells and in a rat tendon fascicle model ex vivo. The effects of IL-17A pathway blockade were investigated in a rat model of rotator cuff tendinopathy in vivo.
Results: We provide evidence of differential expression of IL-17A mRNA (IL17A) versus other IL-17 family members in human rotator cuff early-stage tendinopathy. In human tendon-derived cells, stimulation with IL-17A induced the expression of the selected IL-17A pathway signature genes NFKBIZ, ZC3H12A, CXCL1, IL6, MMP3. Expression was inhibited by IL-17A blockade. In the rat ex vivo and in vivo models, IL-17A blockade alleviated inflammatory immune effector release, tendon structural degeneration, tendon inflammation and impaired tendon function.
Conclusion: Our data provide evidence that IL-17A is a key contributor to the pathogenesis of tendinopathy by promoting tendon inflammation and degeneration and that IL-17A blockade may represent a potential therapy in early-stage tendinopathy.

Item Type:	Article
Date Deposited:	08 Mar 2025 00:45
Last Modified:	08 Mar 2025 00:45
URI:	https://oak.novartis.com/id/eprint/53955