scholarly journals Toward Overcoming Treatment Failure in Rheumatoid Arthritis

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuqian Wang ◽  
Jie Huang ◽  
Duoli Xie ◽  
Dongyi He ◽  
Aiping Lu ◽  
...  

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by inflammation and bone erosion. The exact mechanism of RA is still unknown, but various immune cytokines, signaling pathways and effector cells are involved. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are commonly used in RA treatment and classified into different categories. Nevertheless, RA treatment is based on a “trial-and-error” approach, and a substantial proportion of patients show failed therapy for each DMARD. Over the past decades, great efforts have been made to overcome treatment failure, including identification of biomarkers, exploration of the reasons for loss of efficacy, development of sequential or combinational DMARDs strategies and approval of new DMARDs. Here, we summarize these efforts, which would provide valuable insights for accurate RA clinical medication. While gratifying, researchers realize that these efforts are still far from enough to recommend specific DMARDs for individual patients. Precision medicine is an emerging medical model that proposes a highly individualized and tailored approach for disease management. In this review, we also discuss the potential of precision medicine for overcoming RA treatment failure, with the introduction of various cutting-edge technologies and big data.

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Liang ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Cheng Lu ◽  
Duoli Xie ◽  
Jin Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disorder characterized by progressive bone erosion. Leflunomide is originally developed to suppress inflammation via its metabolite A77 1726 to attenuate bone erosion. However, distinctive responsiveness to Leflunomide is observed among RA individuals. Here we show that Leflunomide exerts immunosuppression but limited efficacy in RA individuals distinguished by higher serum C-reactive protein (CRPHigher, CRPH), whereas the others with satisfactory responsiveness to Leflunomide show lower CRP (CRPLower, CRPL). CRP inhibition decreases bone erosion in arthritic rats. Besides the immunomodulation via A77 1726, Leflunomide itself induces AHR-ARNT interaction to inhibit hepatic CRP production and attenuate bone erosion in CRPL arthritic rats. Nevertheless, high CRP in CRPH rats upregulates HIF1α, which competes with AHR for ARNT association and interferes Leflunomide-AHR-CRP signaling. Hepatocyte-specific HIF1α deletion or a HIF1α inhibitor Acriflavine re-activates Leflunomide-AHR-CRP signaling to inhibit bone erosion. This study presents a precision medicine-based therapeutic strategy for RA.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 1351-1365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhentao Huang ◽  
Qingxin Yao ◽  
Simin Wei ◽  
Jiali Chen ◽  
Yuan Gao

Precision medicine is in an urgent need for public healthcare. Among the past several decades, the flourishing development in nanotechnology significantly advances the realization of precision nanomedicine. Comparing to well-documented nanoparticlebased strategy, in this review, we focus on the strategy using enzyme instructed selfassembly (EISA) in biological milieu for theranostics purpose. In principle, the design of small molecules for EISA requires two aspects: (1) the substrate of enzyme of interest; and (2) self-assembly potency after enzymatic conversion. This strategy has shown its irreplaceable advantages in nanomedicne, specifically for cancer treatments and Vaccine Adjuvants. Interestingly, all the reported examples rely on only one kind of enzymehydrolase. Therefore, we envision that the application of EISA strategy just begins and will lead to a new paradigm in nanomedicine.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 431-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
George E. Fragoulis ◽  
Ismini Panayotidis ◽  
Elena Nikiphorou

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune inflammatory arthritis. Inflammation, however, can spread beyond the joints to involve other organs. During the past few years, it has been well recognized that RA associates with increased risk for cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD) compared with the general population. This seems to be due not only to the increased occurrence in RA of classical CVD risk factors and comorbidities like smoking, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and others but also to the inflammatory burden that RA itself carries. This is not unexpected given the strong links between inflammation and atherosclerosis and CVD. It has been shown that inflammatory cytokines which are present in abundance in RA play a significant role in every step of plaque formation and rupture. Most of the therapeutic regimes used in RA treatment seem to offer significant benefits to that end. However, more studies are needed to clarify the effect of these drugs on various parameters, including the lipid profile. Of note, although pharmacological intervention significantly helps reduce the inflammatory burden and therefore the CVD risk, control of the so-called classical risk factors is equally important. Herein, we review the current evidence for the underlying pathogenic mechanisms linking inflammation with CVD in the context of RA and reflect on the possible impact of treatments used in RA.


Author(s):  
Dale Purves

Brains as Engines of Association seeks an operating principle of the human brain and is divided into four parts. The first part (“What Nervous Systems Do for Animals”) is intended to set the stage for understanding the emergence of neural systems as promoting what all organisms must accomplish: survival and reproduction. The second part (“Neural Systems as Engines of Association”) lays out the general argument that biological sensing systems face a daunting problem: they cannot measure the parameters of the world in the way physical instruments can. As a result, nervous systems must make and update associations (synaptic connections) on the basis of empirical success or failure over both evolutionary and individual time. The third part (“Evidence that Neural Systems Operate Empirically”) reviews evidence accumulated over the past 20 years that supports this interpretation in vision and audition, the sensory systems that have been most studied from this or any other perspective. Finally, the fourth part (“Alternative Concepts of Neural Function”) considers the pros and cons of other interpretations of how brains operate. The overarching theme is that the nervous systems of humans and every other animal operate on the basis associations between stimuli and behavior made by trial and error over species and lifetime experience.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 904.1-904
Author(s):  
P. Vandormael ◽  
A. Pues ◽  
E. Sleurs ◽  
P. Verschueren ◽  
V. Somers

Background:Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder that is characterized by chronic inflammation of the joint synovium and presence of autoantibodies in most patients. For RA, many treatments are currently available but each treatment will only induce disease remission in a subset of patients. Moreover, finding out which patients respond well to first-line therapy with classical synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), still largely depends on trial and error.Objectives:In this study, we aim to find novel RA autoantibody biomarkers that predict therapy response to csDMARDs before the initiation of treatment.Methods:In the CareRA trial, a Flemish multicenter study of different treatment regimes, serum samples were collected from RA patients that did or did not show disease remission (DAS28(CRP)<2.6) in response to csDMARDs, combined with a step down glucocorticoid treatment. In our study, baseline samples, collected before the start of treatment, were used to determine predictive antibody reactivity. A cDNA phage display library, representing the antigens from RA synovial tissue, was constructed and screened for antibody reactivity in baseline serum samples of RA patients that failed to reach remission at week 16. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), antibody reactivity against the identified antigens was initially determined in pooled baseline serum samples of RA patients that did (n=50) or did not (n=40) reach disease remission at week 16. Antigenic targets that showed increased antibody reactivity in pools from patients that did not reach disease remission, were further validated in individual serum samples of 69 RA patients that did not reach DAS28(CRP) remission at week 16, and 122 RA patients that did.Results:Screening and validation of antibody reactivity resulted in 41 novel antigens. The retrieved antigenic sequences correspond to (parts of) known proteins and to randomly formed peptides. A panel of 3 of these peptide antigens could be composed, whose baseline antibody reactivity correlated with lack of therapy response at week 16. Presence of antibodies against at least one of these 3 antigens was significantly higher in individual samples of RA patients that did not reach DAS28(CRP) remission (43 vs. 29%, p=0.041), or that failed to reach ACR 70 (42 vs. 26%, p=0.029) response criteria at week 16, compared to RA patients that did reach these respective criteria. In addition, RA patients which were positive for this antibody panel at baseline, also showed less DAS(CRP) remission at week 4 and week 8.Conclusion:We have identified a set of 3 antibody biomarkers that can predict failure of early disease remission after first-line RA therapy, which might contribute to personalized medicine decisions.Disclosure of Interests:Patrick Vandormael: None declared, Astrid Pues: None declared, Ellen Sleurs: None declared, Patrick Verschueren Grant/research support from: Pfizer unrestricted chair of early RA research, Speakers bureau: various companies, Veerle Somers Grant/research support from: Research grant from Pfizer and BMS


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1070
Author(s):  
Alok K. Paul ◽  
Anita Paul ◽  
Rownak Jahan ◽  
Khoshnur Jannat ◽  
Tohmina A. Bondhon ◽  
...  

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disorder that can lead to disability conditions with swollen joints, pain, stiffness, cartilage degradation, and osteoporosis. Genetic, epigenetic, sex-specific factors, smoking, air pollution, food, oral hygiene, periodontitis, Prevotella, and imbalance in the gastrointestinal microbiota are possible sources of the initiation or progression of rheumatoid arthritis, although the detailed mechanisms still need to be elucidated. Probiotics containing Lactobacillus spp. are commonly used as alleviating agents or food supplements to manage diarrhea, dysentery, develop immunity, and maintain general health. The mechanism of action of Lactobacillus spp. against rheumatoid arthritis is still not clearly known to date. In this narrative review, we recapitulate the findings of recent studies to understand the overall pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis and the roles of probiotics, particularly L. casei or L. acidophilus, in the management of rheumatoid arthritis in clinical and preclinical studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2426
Author(s):  
Askhat Myngbay ◽  
Limara Manarbek ◽  
Steve Ludbrook ◽  
Jeannette Kunz

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease causing inflammation of joints, cartilage destruction and bone erosion. Biomarkers and new drug targets are actively sought and progressed to improve available options for patient treatment. The Collagen Triple Helix Repeat Containing 1 protein (CTHRC1) may have an important role as a biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis, as CTHRC1 protein concentration is significantly elevated in the peripheral blood of rheumatoid arthritis patients compared to osteoarthritis (OA) patients and healthy individuals. CTHRC1 is a secreted glycoprotein that promotes cell migration and has been implicated in arterial tissue-repair processes. Furthermore, high CTHRC1 expression is observed in many types of cancer and is associated with cancer metastasis to the bone and poor patient prognosis. However, the function of CTHRC1 in RA is still largely undefined. The aim of this review is to summarize recent findings on the role of CTHRC1 as a potential biomarker and pathogenic driver of RA progression. We will discuss emerging evidence linking CTHRC1 to the pathogenic behavior of fibroblast-like synoviocytes and to cartilage and bone erosion through modulation of the balance between bone resorption and repair.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Istvan Grexa ◽  
Akos Diosdi ◽  
Maria Harmati ◽  
Andras Kriston ◽  
Nikita Moshkov ◽  
...  

AbstractRecent statistics report that more than 3.7 million new cases of cancer occur in Europe yearly, and the disease accounts for approximately 20% of all deaths. High-throughput screening of cancer cell cultures has dominated the search for novel, effective anticancer therapies in the past decades. Recently, functional assays with patient-derived ex vivo 3D cell culture have gained importance for drug discovery and precision medicine. We recently evaluated the major advancements and needs for the 3D cell culture screening, and concluded that strictly standardized and robust sample preparation is the most desired development. Here we propose an artificial intelligence-guided low-cost 3D cell culture delivery system. It consists of a light microscope, a micromanipulator, a syringe pump, and a controller computer. The system performs morphology-based feature analysis on spheroids and can select uniform sized or shaped spheroids to transfer them between various sample holders. It can select the samples from standard sample holders, including Petri dishes and microwell plates, and then transfer them to a variety of holders up to 384 well plates. The device performs reliable semi- and fully automated spheroid transfer. This results in highly controlled experimental conditions and eliminates non-trivial side effects of sample variability that is a key aspect towards next-generation precision medicine.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 876.2-877
Author(s):  
S. Tsujimoto ◽  
M. Shigesaka ◽  
A. Tanaka ◽  
Y. Ozaki ◽  
T. Ito ◽  
...  

Background:Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune disease. It is characterized by systemic synovitis with bone erosion and joint cartilage degradation(1). Production of autoantibody is important for autoimmune disease. Cytokines play crucial roles in its pathogenesis(2). SNP distribution varies between races. Few studies have examined SNP targeted at Japanese patients. The analysis of cytokine gene polymorphisms is important factor of pathophysiology and treatment.Objectives:This analysis was aimed to investigate the association between cytokine gene polymorphisms and autoantibody and therapeutic response in Japanese RA patients.Methods:This study subjects consisted of 100 RA patients and 50 healthy controls. We extracted data on patient sex, age, disease duration, rheumatoid factor (RF), anti cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibody and therapeutic response including methotrexate (MTX) and biological DMARDs. Genomic DNA was isolated from peripheral blood, these were genotyped for TNFα, TGFβ1, IL-6, IL-10 and IFNγ polymorphisms. We analyzed these data using a chi-square test.Results:IL-10 (-819 C/T and -592 C/A) revealed that there were significant decrease in the frequency of IL-10 (-819) CC genotype and (-592) CC genotype as compared to controls in RA patients. Genotyping of IL-10 showed that there was significant decrease ACC/ACC genotype (Table 1).IFNγ (+874 A/T) revealed that there was significant decrease in the frequency of TT genotype as compared to controls (Table 1).No significant differences in TNFα, TGFβ1and IL-6 genotypes and alleles frequency were observed between RA patients and control.TGFβ1(+869 A/T) in patients with anti-CCP antibody positive revealed that there was significant decrease in the frequency of TT genotype as compared to patients with anti-CCP antibody negative (Table 2).No significant association between RF and any cytokine gene polymorphism.Analyzing cytokine gene polymorphisms could be useful for treatment with MTX and biological DMARDs.Table 1.Table 2.Conclusion:IL-10 (-819 C/T, -592 C/A) and IFNγ (+874 A/T) polymorphism might be related to RA in Japanese population. In addition, TGFβ1(+869 A/T) polymorphism might be associated with the production of anti-CCP antibody. These results suggest that the analyzing cytokine gene polymorphisms may offer promise as useful factors in the choice of treatment for Japanese RA patients.References:[1] Scott DL, Wolfe F, Huizinga TW. Rheumatoid arthritis. Lancet. 2010; 376: 1094–108.[2] McInnes IB, Schett G. Cytokines in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. Nat Rev Immunol. 2007 Jun;7(6):429-42.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


2021 ◽  
Vol 233 ◽  
pp. 92-96
Author(s):  
Zhen Wang ◽  
Xinxin Huang ◽  
Xiaokang Ye ◽  
Xia Li ◽  
Jing Wei

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