Video: Every Case Tells a Story| Webinar: ACR/CHEST ILD Guidelines in Practice

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

  • Conditions
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis
    • Gout and Crystalline Arthritis
    • Myositis
    • Osteoarthritis and Bone Disorders
    • Pain Syndromes
    • Pediatric Conditions
    • Psoriatic Arthritis
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Sjögren’s Disease
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
    • Systemic Sclerosis
    • Vasculitis
    • Other Rheumatic Conditions
  • FocusRheum
    • ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis
    • Gout
    • Psoriatic Arthritis
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
  • Guidance
    • Clinical Criteria/Guidelines
    • Ethics
    • Legal Updates
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence
      • Other ACR meetings
      • EULAR/Other
    • Research Rheum
  • Drug Updates
    • Analgesics
    • Biologics/DMARDs
  • Practice Support
    • Billing/Coding
    • EMRs
    • Facility
    • Insurance
    • QA/QI
    • Technology
    • Workforce
  • Opinion
    • Patient Perspective
    • Profiles
    • Rheuminations
      • Video
    • Speak Out Rheum
  • Career
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Awards
    • Career Development
  • ACR
    • ACR Home
    • ACR Convergence
    • ACR Guidelines
    • Journals
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
    • From the College
    • Events/CME
    • President’s Perspective
  • Search

Rheumatology Research Foundation Funding Enables Potential Treatment Advancements

From the College  |  Issue: June 2017  |  June 13, 2017

Vector Goddess/shutterstock.com

Vector Goddess/shutterstock.com

Investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital recently discovered a novel subset of peripheral helper T cells (TPH) that drive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) inflammation. Originally published in the February issue of Nature, findings from this study provided bedrock knowledge for developing new RA therapies.

Now, with funding from the Rheumatology Research Foundation, investigators are expanding on the information for further discovery. Deepak Rao, MD, PhD, an instructor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and first author of the study, is the recipient of a Foundation Tobé and Stephen E. Malawista, MD, Endowment in Academic Rheumatology. This endowment enabled Dr. Rao and his team to continue analysis on the effects and mechanisms behind TPH cells.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Dr. Rao aims to apply the insights gained from the previous study to develop new therapy options for RA. “We are working in the lab now to target these exact cells. The new treatment would more specifically target the cells that directly impact RA and leave the other cells alone, so they are still around to fight infections.”

In addition to expanded treatment options, further investigation could provide indicators for how a patient will respond to a particular therapy. The newly discovered TPH cells were found in abundance in the blood of RA patients, but began to decline when patients began an effective treatment. TPH cells could track disease activity and help to eliminate lengthy trial-and-error periods for RA patients.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Of the study’s 28 co-authors, more than half have received Foundation funding at some point in their career. Dr. Rao and senior author Michael Brenner, MD, are currently receiving Foundation funding to expand the study on Tph cells. They will specifically seek to understand the development of the cells and identify factors that could develop new RA therapies.

“We are grateful that the Foundation is supporting our efforts to continue studying this interesting T cell population,” says Dr. Rao. “For junior investigators like myself, Foundation funding is essential.”

For more information, visit Rheumatology Research Foundation.

Share: 

Filed under:ConditionsFrom the CollegeResearch RheumRheumatoid Arthritis Tagged with:Fundingperipheral helper T cellsRARheumatic DiseaseRheumatoid arthritisRheumatology Research FoundationTreatment

Related Articles

    Foot Pain a Burden for Rheumatology Patients

    January 13, 2012

    Researchers say it may even correlate with back, hip, and knee pain

    FOCIS 2015: TET Protein Regulation May Provide Insights for Cancer Treatment

    September 15, 2015

    Image Credit: Laguna Design/sciencesource.com A presentation given during FOCIS 2015, the 15th annual meeting of the Federation of Clinical Immunity Societies in June 2015 in San Diego, focused on advances in stem cell research related to treatment of cancer and the function that particular enzymes play in disease. Anjana Rao, PhD, professor at the La…

    Aims Review Committee Helps Rheumatology Researchers Craft Grant Proposals

    August 13, 2017

    There you are, working steadily away on your next manuscript. The ideas are flowing. You’ve hit your stride. Nothing can stop you now—nothing, that is, except a colleague who shows up at your desk with a 20-page grant proposal. “Do you mind?” he asks. Across academia the problem is the same—too few hours in the…

    Peripheral Helper Cells May Provide Clue to RA Pathology

    February 27, 2017

    Research has identified a subset of T cells, peripheral helper (TPH) cells, which may promote pathological B cell responses and antibody production in patients with seropositive RA. TPH cells also express chemokine receptors, enabling them to infiltrate inflamed parts of the body and stimulate B cells to produce antibodies…

  • About Us
  • Meet the Editors
  • Issue Archives
  • Contribute
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. ISSN 1931-3268 (print). ISSN 1931-3209 (online).
  • DEI Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookie Preferences