Luyuan Tong,* Jiao Qiu,* Yalin Xu, Shijing Lian, Yanqiu Xu, Xiao Wu

The Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Xiao Wu, The Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Southwest Medical University, No. 182, Chunhui Road, Longmatan District, Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13880436122, Email 29434230@qq.com

Abstract: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, progressive, systemic autoimmune disease characterised by synovial inflammation, synovial pannus formation and subsequent destruction of articular cartilage and bone. Programmed cell death (PCD), encompassing apoptosis, autophagy, pyroptosis, necroptosis, and ferroptosis, plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of RA. An imbalance in PCD causes a variety of immune cells to release large amounts of inflammatory factors and mediators that exacerbate not only chronic synovial inflammation, but also bone and joint damage. The purpose of this article is to review the relevant studies between PCD and RA, with the aim of providing further insights and considerations for a deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of RA and to guide clinical management.

Keywords: rheumatoid arthritis, apoptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, autophagy, ferroptosis