Researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology are working to understand how a viral infection like chikungunya (CHIKV) can cause persistent joint pain that closely resembles rheumatoid arthritis.
Their research suggested CD4+ T cells that step up to fight the virus caused chronic inflammation in the process (Cell Reports Med 2025;6[5]:102134).
They studied immune cells found in blood samples from a group of chikungunya patients and found CD4+ T cells showed a strong response