TNF-like cytokine 1A (TL1A) and its receptors, death receptor 3 (DR3) and decoy receptor 3 (DcR3) are members of the TNF and TNF receptor superfamilies of proteins, respectively. They constitute a cytokine system that actively interferes with the regulation of immune responses and may participate in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases.
This review aims to present the current knowledge on the role of the TL1A/DR3/DcR3 system in the pathophysiology of autoimmune rheumatic diseases, with a focus on rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
An extensive literature search was performed in the PubMed database using the following keywords: TL1A, death receptor 3, DR3, decoy receptor 3, DcR3, TNFSF15, TNFRSF25, and TNFSF6B. Studies were assessed and selected in view of their relevance to autoimmune rheumatic diseases.
The TL1A/DR3/DcR3 axis is a novel immune pathway that participates in the pathogenesis of a variety of autoimmune rheumatic diseases. These molecules may be promising therapeutic targets for inflammatory arthritis.