New serum biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Development of hypercellular invasive pannus tissue within synovial joints is a hallmark of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Pannus produces proteases that damage bone and cartilage. Non-invasive monitoring of pannus activity is important for clinical assessment of patients as well as for control of the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. Available biomarkers are not satisfactory in terms of pannus specificity and sensitivity for monitoring local inflammation and bone erosion. Our goal is collecting clinical samples of synovial fluid and plasma from patients with RA and/or osteoarthritis (OA) to study the role of WNT signaling in pannus formation and developing set of serum biomarkers to monitor pannus activity.