Anyan Cheng

1Division of Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA 2CAMBAC (Comprehensive Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, Bone and Autoimmunity Center), University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, CA, USA 3Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology, UCSD School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, San Diego, CA, USA 4Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California,...

Highlights • MSUc alone induces a unique strong macrophage activation and distinct phenotype • The transcriptional program induced by MSUc is regulated through AP-1 signaling • JNK or SLC2A1 inhibition ameliorates the in vivo damage associated with MSUc • These results force a reconsideration of initiating mechanisms in acute gout flares Summary Monosodium urate crystals (MSUc) induce inflammation in vivo without prior priming, raising the possibility of an initial cell-autonomous phase.