REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.

Sec. Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Disorders : Autoimmune Disorders

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1530753

Biological mechanisms of pulmonary inflammation and its association with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis

Provisionally accepted
Peiyue  YangPeiyue Yang1Yuqing  SongYuqing Song2Mingwei  LiMingwei Li1*
  • 1Fuxing Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
  • 2Suzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Although the pathogenesis of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains unclear, studies suggest that pulmonary inflammation-related biological mechanisms play a significant role in its development. This review thoroughly explores the mechanisms underlying early pulmonary lesions in seropositive RA, focusing on the mucosal barrier hypothesis, neutrophil extracellular traps, pathogenic microbial infections like COVID-19, Vitamin D, the microbiome and gut-lung axis, inhalation exposures and chronic pulmonary diseases. This study seeks to provide novel insights and theoretical foundations for the prevention and treatment of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis.

Keywords: Rheumatoid arthritis, pulmonary inflammation, Anti-citrullinated protein antibodies, COVID-19, Gut-Lung Axis

Received: 19 Nov 2024; Accepted: 28 Apr 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Yang, Song and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Mingwei Li, Fuxing Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.