Evidence of Site-Specific Mucosal Autoantibody Secretion in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: Anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) have been detected in sputum and saliva, indicating that anti-modified protein antibodies (AMPA) can be produced at mucosal sites in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the body's largest mucosal compartment, the gut, has not yet been examined. We therefore investigated the presence of several AMPA (ACPA, anti-carbamylated protein antibodies [anti-CarP], and anti-acetylated protein antibodies [AAPA]) at different mucosal sites, including the intestinal tract.

Effectiveness of JAK Inhibitors Compared With Biologic Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs on Pain Reduction in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results From a Nationwide Swedish Cohort Study.

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of JAK inhibitors (JAKis) and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) on pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods: In this retrospective study, we investigated patients with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, starting treatment with a JAKi (n = 1,827), a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi; n = 6,422), an interleukin-6 inhibitor (n = 887), abatacept (n = 1,102), or rituximab (n = 1,149) in 2017 to 2019, using data from several linked Swedish national registers. Differences in change in pain, assessed with a visual analogue scale (0-100 mm), from baseline to 3 months, as well as proportions of patients remaining on initial treatment with low pain (visual analogue scale pain <20) at 12 months, were compared between treatments.

Screening for autoimmune diseases in apparently healthy antinuclear antibody positive individuals.

Background: Anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) assessed by immunofluorescence (IF) microscopy are associated with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD) and can be detected years before onset of clinical symptoms. Recent data indicate dysregulation of the immune system with increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines, including type I interferons (IFN), in ANA-positive versus ANA-negative individuals. Herein, the aims were to investigate IF-ANA, ANA fine specificities, and IFN-α protein levels in relation to self-reported symptoms, as well as clinical signs, of SARD in a large group of healthy blood donors (HBD).

Autoantibodies to joint-related peptides as predictive markers in early rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: For better management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), new biomarkers are needed to predict the development of different disease courses. This study aims to identify autoantibodies against epitopes on proteins in the joints and to predict disease outcome in patients with new onset RA.

Methods: Sera from new onset RA patients from the Swedish BARFOT and TIRA-2 cohorts (n = 1986) were screened for autoantibodies to selected peptides (JointIDs) in a bead-based multiplex flow immunoassay.

Exhaled Nitric Oxide Reflects the Immune Reactions of the Airways in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have altered levels of exhaled nitric oxide (NO) compared with healthy controls. Here, we investigated whether the clinical features of and immunological factors in RA pathogenesis could be linked to the NO lung dynamics in early disease. A total of 44 patients with early RA and anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPAs), specified as cyclic citrullinated peptide 2 (CCP2), were included.