Mechanism of the anti-inflammatory effect of colchicine in rheumatic diseases: a possible new outlook through microarray analysis

Abstract

The anti-inflammatory effect of colchicine may be mediated not only through direct interaction with microtubules but also through changes at the transcriptional level. This latter effect apparently requires a higher concentration and a longer time to occur. This can explain the observation that colchicine does not have an immediate effect when given during an acute attack of FMF.