The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Immune System Targeted for Research into New Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatments

Immune System Targeted for Research into New Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatments

March 20, 2017 • By Thomas R. Collins

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF

While looking into IgG glycosylation in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)—in which they found that JIA IgG appears “supercharged” through an excess of G0 and other pro-inflammatory glycans—researchers saw that, in adult healthy controls, G0 levels rose sharply around age 50 in women.

You Might Also Like
  • RA Treatment Options: Researchers Explore Groundwork for New Therapies
  • Research into Methotrexate Could Lead to Improved Treatments for Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Plasma Cells, Synovial Compartment Implicated in Tenacity of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Explore This Issue
March 2017
Also By This Author
  • The ACR’s State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium: Rheumatologists Weigh in on Tough-to-Treat Cases, Paget’s Disease, Imaging

To explore a potential link with menopause, Dr. Nigrovic and colleagues drew from several intervention cohorts in which levels of estrogen were modulated experimentally. Postmenopausal women randomized to estrogen agonists showed a reduction in G0 glycans; however, women randomized to placebo did not.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

In a second cohort, premenopausal women were treated with leuprolide, a GnRH agonist that temporarily induces a post-menopausal state, and then randomized to either placebo or estradiol, a form of estrogen. Among those who received placebo, levels of proinflammatory G0 glycans increased. There was no increase among those who received estradiol. Researchers found that estrogen has a similar effect in men, in whom estrogen is derived in large part from conversion of testosterone.

“These data establish conclusively that estrogen drives IgG glycosylation in both women and men, representing a previously unknown link between sex and immunity,” Dr. Nigrovic said. “However, we don’t yet know if this effect reflects direct action of estrogens on B cells or rather an indirect effect mediated by other types of cells.”

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Dr. Nigrovic said that the physiological relevance of this estrogen role “remains to be determined.” Because glycans play a key role in the ability of antibodies to cause inflammation, he expects that immune consequences are likely, both for high-estrogen states, such as pregnancy, and low-estrogen states, such as menopause. He also expects the observations to have implications for therapeutic manipulation of hormone levels in both women and men.

The work will be published soon in JCI Insight, he said.

Macrophages in RA

ADragan/shutterstock.com

ADragan/shutterstock.com

At Northwestern University, a lab led by Harris Perlman, MD, the chief of rheumatology there, has shown how macrophages have a constantly changing role in the spectrum of RA, from the induction of disease to continuation of disease and the resolution of disease.

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Their work has shown how the transcriptional profiles of synovial macrophages change over time. Researchers are now expanding the populations of the macrophages they’re studying as they look to develop gene signatures in those populations and determine how they relate to disease development.

Dr. Perlman said it is now a new age in the understanding of macrophages in RA and that the classic in vitro model of M1 and M2 phenotypes of macrophages, with distinct roles and origins, doesn’t hold for an in vivo understanding of what’s going on.

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: Meeting Reports, Rheumatoid Arthritis Tagged With: 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, American College of Rheumatology, IgG glycans, Immune System, macrophage, Pathogenesis, Research, Rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatology, T cell adhesion, TreatmentIssue: March 2017

You Might Also Like:
  • RA Treatment Options: Researchers Explore Groundwork for New Therapies
  • Research into Methotrexate Could Lead to Improved Treatments for Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Plasma Cells, Synovial Compartment Implicated in Tenacity of Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Research Into Causes of Systemic Vasculitis May Lead to Targeted Treatments Say Rheumatologists at the 2013 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

ACR Convergence

Don’t miss rheumatology’s premier scientific meeting for anyone involved in research or the delivery of rheumatologic care or services.

Visit the ACR Convergence site »

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

Simple Tasks

Learn more about the ACR’s public awareness campaign and how you can get involved. Help increase visibility of rheumatic diseases and decrease the number of people left untreated.

Visit the Simple Tasks site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2022 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)