AGER and rheumatoid arthritis: Moreover, the upregulation of RAGE observed in various diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory kidney disease, arteriosclerosis, and inflammatory bowel disease), in association with the capacity of RAGE to bind many proinflammatory ligands (amyloid-β fibrils, S100 proteins, and HMGB-1), strongly suggests that RAGE also plays a pivotal role in the activation and maintenance of immune/inflammatory responses.