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Differentiating between the early stages of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) can be challenging. In this Review, the authors summarize current knowledge on UCTD and early-stage SLE and discuss clinical approaches to diagnosing these conditions.
In this Review, the authors provide an introduction to machine learning and discuss the use of this approach in rheumatic autoimmune inflammatory diseases, including the classification of patients based on medical records or molecular characteristics, identification of novel biomarkers or drug repurposing candidates and prediction of disease progression or onset.
Regulatory T (Treg) cells have crucial roles in peripheral tolerance and limiting inflammation, and IL-2 is an important cytokine for Treg cell differentiation, activity and homeostasis. In this Review, Kolios, Tsokos and Klatzmann provide an overview of Treg cell and IL-2 involvement in rheumatic diseases and how modulating IL-2 signalling and Treg cell biology might provide novel treatment avenues.
In this timely Review, the authors compare and contrast two forms of childhood inflammatory vasculitis: Kawasaki disease and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, highlighting epidemiological, clinical and immunological differences that suggest they should be classified as distinct syndromes.
Built by and for the research community, the Musculoskeletal Knowledge Portal (MSK-KP) offers researchers a single integrated platform on which to display, access, distill and explore results from large genomic and epigenomic studies to formulate hypotheses and accelerate the development of patient-centered therapeutics for complex, multi-factorial conditions such as osteoarthritis.
A study published in Nature Biomedical Engineering reports a new biomimetic lubricant that can help restore cartilage in rats with post-traumatic osteoarthritis.
The results of several retrospective studies have reported that systemic treatment in patients with psoriasis reduces the risk of incident psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Although encouraging from a prevention perspective, such studies are limited in their ability to provide a conclusive understanding of PsA risk, preventing a clear picture from emerging.
Knee joint distraction (KJD) is used to stimulate joint repair in advanced osteoarthritis. In the Review, Jansen and Mastbergen provide an overview of the clinical trial results of KJD treatment, current knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying joint repair in KJD, and future directions and unanswered questions in KJD research and treatment.
Interferon-γ (IFNγ) is important in innate and adaptive immunity and its overproduction is also implicated in hyperinflammation. Here, De Benedetti and colleagues discuss the evidence for a pathogenetic role of IFNγ in hyperinflammatory diseases, the search for IFNγ biomarkers, and the results of clinical trials of IFNγ-neutralizing therapeutics.
Fatigue is a common and debilitating symptom of inflammatory rheumatic diseases, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this Review, the authors examine the potential contributing factors, present putative models of fatigue and discuss challenges for research and treatment.
Researchers have created therapeutic implants containing cells engineered to release anti-inflammatory biologic drugs in response to changing endogenous inflammatory signals.
Non-coding RNAs such as microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs and circular RNAs regulate signalling pathways that are important in joint development, homeostasis and disease. A better understanding of the non-coding RNA interactome could lead to new therapies for joint diseases.
New research shows that cartilage engineered from nasal chondrocytes can integrate with osteoarthritic joint tissues in animal models, and provides early evidence of clinical benefits in patients with knee osteoarthritis.
A new study finds that a small-molecule inhibitor of IRAK4 blocks inflammation and pathophysiological processes in rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.
