In addition, upregulated expressions of several anti-apoptotic proteins such as myeloid cell leukemia 1 (MCL-1) (Liu et al., 2006), cellular FLICE (FADD-like IL-1β-converting enzyme)-inhibitory protein (c-FLIP) (Huang et al., 2017), transcription factor nuclear factor of activated T cells 5 (NFAT5) (Choi et al., 2017), and microRNA such as Mir-155 (Kurowska-Stolarska et al., 2011; Rajasekhar et al., 2017) have also been reported to promote synovial macrophage survival via inhibiting apoptosis in RA. This evidence concerns the gene MCL1 and rheumatoid arthritis.