scholarly journals PS9:176 Systemic lupus erythematosus (sle) prospective observational cohort study (spocs) to characterise moderate to severe sle disease activity, treatment, and outcomes by type i interferon gene signature

Author(s):  
ER Hammond ◽  
R Tummala ◽  
A Berglind ◽  
B Desta ◽  
H Nab
BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e036563
Author(s):  
Edward R Hammond ◽  
Raj Tummala ◽  
Anna Berglind ◽  
Farhat Syed ◽  
Xia Wang ◽  
...  

IntroductionThe Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) Prospective Observational Cohort Study (SPOCS) aims to describe the disease course of SLE and its association with type I interferon gene signature (IFNGS) status.Methods and analysisSPOCS is an international, multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study designed to follow patients through biannual study visits during a 3-year observation period. Patients ≥18 years old with a physician diagnosis that meets the American College of Rheumatology or Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics SLE classification criteria will be included. SPOCS will comprehensively analyse clinical features, disease progression and treatment, SLE outcomes, health status assessments and quality of life, and healthcare resource utilisation of patients with moderate to severe SLE. A four-gene test will be used to measure IFNGS status; scores will be compared with a pre-established cut-off. Patients will be stratified by low or high IFNGS expression levels. Enrolment began in June 2017, and study completion is expected in 2022. The total number of anticipated patients was initially planned for 1500 patients and was amended to 900 patients owing to slow accrual of eligible patients.Ethics and disseminationThe ethics committee/institutional review board/independent ethics committee at each study site approved the SPOCS protocol prior to study initiation (protocol number: D3461R00001, version 3.0, 26 June 2019). Study findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at scientific meetings.Trial registration numberNCT03189875.


Lupus ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (13) ◽  
pp. 1524-1533 ◽  
Author(s):  
PZ Brohawn ◽  
K Streicher ◽  
B W Higgs ◽  
C Morehouse ◽  
H Liu ◽  
...  

Objectives Type I interferon (IFN) is implicated in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) pathogenesis. We aimed to identify type I IFN signaling-dependent and -independent molecular pathways in a large population of patients with SLE. Methods Baseline blood samples from adult patients with moderate to severe SLE from two Phase IIb studies (NCT01438489, n = 265; NCT01283139, n = 416) were profiled using whole transcriptome array analyses. Type I IFN gene signature (IFNGS) test status (high or low) was determined using a validated qualitative polymerase chain reaction–based test. IFN-type-specific signatures were developed by stimulating healthy blood with IFN-β, IFN-γ, IFN-λ, IFN-ω, or pooled IFN-α. These, and multiple literature-derived cell type and cytokine pathway signatures, were evaluated in individual and pooled study populations. A Fisher’s exact test was used for associations, adjusted for false discovery rate. Results Whole blood samples from IFNGS test–high patients were enriched versus IFNGS test–low patients for CD40L signaling ( Q < 0.001), CXC cytokine ( Q < 0.001), TLR8-mediated monocyte activation ( Q < 0.001), IgG ( Q < 0.001), major histocompatibility complex class I ( Q < 0.001), and plasma cell ( Q < 0.001) gene expression signatures. IFNGS test–low patients had significant enrichment of eosinophil ( Q < 0.001), IFN-γ-specific ( Q = 0.005), and T-cell or B-cell ( Q < 0.001) signatures. Similar enrichment profiles were demonstrated in patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome, systemic sclerosis, and dermatomyositis. Conclusions IFNGS test–high patients overexpressed many gene signatures associated with SLE pathogenesis compared with IFNGS test–low patients, reflecting broad immune activation. These results provide new insights into the molecular heterogeneity underlying SLE pathogenesis, highlighting shared mechanisms beyond type I IFN, across several autoimmune diseases. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01438489 and NCT01283139.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry A Casey ◽  
Michael A Smith ◽  
Dominic Sinibaldi ◽  
Nickie L Seto ◽  
Martin P Playford ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarthak Gupta ◽  
Shuichiro Nakabo ◽  
Jun Chu ◽  
Sarfaraz Hasni ◽  
Mariana J. Kaplan

AbstractObjectivesAnti-type I interferon (IFN) autoantibodies have been reported in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Recently, an association of these autoantibodies with severe COVID-19 was reported in the general population. We assessed whether having pre-existing anti-IFNα autoantibodies was associated with COVID-19 infection in SLE patients.MethodsPatients with SLE who developed COVID-19 between April 1st to October 1st, 2020 were studied. Biobanked pre-COVID-19 plasma from these SLE subjects and healthy controls were tested for anti-IFNα IgG autoantibodies by ELISA. The ability of plasma anti-IFNα autoantibodies to block signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) phosphorylation by recombinant human IFNα in vitro was assessed by flow cytometry.ResultsTen SLE subjects with COVID-19 were identified. A 40% of these subjects had stable autoantibodies against IFNα for up to three years preceding COVID-19 diagnosis. A 50% of the subjects with these autoantibodies neutralized IFNα induced STAT1 phosphorylation.None of the other SLE samples blocked IFNα signaling.ConclusionsWe noted an increased prevalence of pre-existing anti-IFNα autoantibodies in SLE patients with COVID-19 compared to the reported prevalence in lupus patients and the general population with severe COVID-19. Autoantibodies against IFNα in SLE patients may be pathogenic and patients with them maybe at-risk of developing COVID-19.Key MessagesWhat is already known about this subject?-Anti-type I interferon (IFN) autoantibodies have been reported in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and have recently been associated with severe COVID-19 in the general population.What does this study add?-SLE subjects with COVID-19 had an increased prevalence of pre-existing anti-IFNα autoantibodies compared to the reported prevalence in lupus patients and the general population with severe COVID-19.-Plasma from 50% of subjects with these autoantibodies were able to block in vitro activity of IFNα.-SLE patients with pre-existing anti-IFNα autoantibodies had more severe COVID-19 manifestations.How might this impact on clinical practice or future developments?-Anti-IFNα autoantibodies may be pathogenic and could prove to be a helpful prognostic marker to predict which SLE patient may develop COVID-19 and inform preventive measures and management of this subset of patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 87-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Postal ◽  
Jessica F Vivaldo ◽  
Ruth Fernandez-Ruiz ◽  
Jacqueline L Paredes ◽  
Simone Appenzeller ◽  
...  

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