Immuno-profile-directed stratification of patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Correct diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and risk stratification of early RA patients has major implications for prognosis and decisions regarding medical treatment. Classical prognostic algorithms proved to be unreliable in daily practice. However, patients with auto-antibodies to citrullinated proteins were found to have a more aggressive disease course. Other newly discovered autoantibodies however do not fill the existing gap. Therefore, discovery of novel serological biomarkers is urgently needed. In this project, we will use mass spectrometry to identify disease-specific antibody peptides that can serve as biomarker for diagnosis & prognosis of RA and for improved risk stratification of RA patients. It is our objective to patent the obtained RA-specific antibody peptide biomarker signatures and realise valorisation through (1) development of MS-based or ELISA-based RA-specific antibody peptide biomarker tools and (2) MS-based antibody peptide biomarker discovery in other auto-immune diseases.

Keywords:rheumatoid arthritis, immunoprofiling, diagnosis

Disciplines:Laboratory medicine, Palliative care and end-of-life care, Regenerative medicine, Other basic sciences, Other health sciences, Nursing, Other paramedical sciences, Other translational sciences, Other medical and health sciences