Antigen-specific T cell frequency and phenotype mirrors disease activity in DRB1*04:04+ rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with high-risk HLA class II alleles known as the "RA shared epitope." Among prevalent shared epitope alleles, study of DRB1*04:04 has been limited. To define relevant epitopes, we identified citrullinated peptide sequences from synovial antigens that were predicted to bind to HLA-DRB1*04:04 and utilized a systematic approach to confirm their binding and assess their recognition by CD4 T cells.

T cells promote distinct transcriptional programs of cutaneous inflammatory disease in keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts.

T cells and structural cells coordinate appropriate inflammatory responses and restoration of barrier integrity following insult. Dysfunctional T cells precipitate skin pathology occurring alongside altered structural cell frequencies and transcriptional states, but to what extent different T cells promote disease-associated changes remains unclear. We show that functionally diverse circulating and skin-resident CD4CLA T cell populations promote distinct transcriptional outcomes in human keratinocytes and fibroblasts associated with inflamed or healthy tissue.

SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines decouple anti-viral immunity from humoral autoimmunity.

mRNA-based vaccines dramatically reduce the occurrence and severity of COVID-19, but are associated with rare vaccine-related adverse effects. These toxicities, coupled with observations that SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with autoantibody development, raise questions whether COVID-19 vaccines may also promote the development of autoantibodies, particularly in autoimmune patients. Here we used Rapid Extracellular Antigen Profiling to characterize self- and viral-directed humoral responses after SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination in 145 healthy individuals, 38 patients with autoimmune diseases, and 8 patients with mRNA vaccine-associated myocarditis.

Corrigendum: Increased Binding of Specificity Protein 1 to the Promoter in B Cells Results in Enhanced B Cell Responses in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.

Citrullinated Aggrecan Epitopes as Targets of Autoreactive CD4+ T Cells in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: Recognition of citrullinated antigens such as vimentin, fibrinogen, and α-enolase is associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Emerging data suggest that the matrix protein aggrecan is also recognized as a citrullinated antigen. This study was undertaken to directly visualize Cit-aggrecan-specific T cells and characterize them in patients with RA.

Increased Binding of Specificity Protein 1 to the Promoter in B Cells Results in Enhanced B Cell Responses in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

B cells are implicated in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) based on the presence of autoantibodies and the therapeutic response to B cell depletion. IL-21 has a significant role in B cell development and function. Here we assess B cell responses to IL-21 and the mechanisms responsible for altered IL-21R expression in RA.

Practice-based evidence to evidence-based practice: building the National Radiation Oncology Registry.

The National Radiation Oncology Registry (NROR), sponsored by the Radiation Oncology Institute and the American Society for Radiation Oncology, is designed to collect standardized information on cancer care delivery among patients treated with radiotherapy in the United States and will focus on patients with prostate cancer. Stakeholders were engaged through a forum that emphasized the need for patient-centered outcomes, minimal data burden, and maximal connectivity to existing registries and databases. An electronic infrastructure is under development to provide connectivity across radiation oncology and hospital information systems.