New research attempts to explore the cause of plasmacytoid dendritic cell hyperactivation in systemic lupus erythematosus by focusing on genetic risk variation.

The findings of a new study suggest that the adipokine FABP4 promotes multiple pathological changes in rheumatoid arthritis and could represent a new therapeutic target.

Three new reports of results from two clinical trials of bimekizumab indicate that it is safe and efficacious for the long-term treatment of patients with ankylosing spondylitis or psoriatic arthritis.

New research shows that annexin A1 has a protective role in periprosthetic osteolysis and could offer a therapeutic approach to this common cause of arthroplasty failure.

A new study uncovers a protective role for epidermal S100A9 in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and highlights this alarmin as a potential biomarker of disease progression.

New research shows that one of the two main isoforms of the human FOXP3 transcription factor is associated with inflammatory transcriptional regulation and autoimmunity.

In patients with autoimmune rheumatic disease, methotrexate therapy has been associated with poor immune response to vaccines, including those intended to provide protection against COVID-19. Emerging evidence supports the practice of temporarily discontinuing this treatment in order to improve immunogenicity.

Transcriptomic analysis of synovial tissue from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis reveals new details of the role of immune cell–stromal cell interactions in synovial inflammation.

New results have identified a targetable pathway involved in invasiveness and resistance to detachment-mediated apoptosis in rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts.

By isolating CD4+ T cells from patients with primary Sjögren syndrome, a new study has identified the involvement of a targetable interferon signalling pathway in T cell differentiation and B cell activation.

Individuals with chronic diseases that require constant medical support are particularly vulnerable during wartime and often remain so after the last shot has been fired. What consequences might the Russia–Ukraine war bring for rheumatology?

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by inflammation and destruction of bone and cartilage in affected joints. Autoimmune responses lead to increased osteoclastic bone resorption and impaired osteoblastic bone formation, the imbalance of which underlies bone loss in RA, which includes bone erosion, periarticular bone loss and systemic osteoporosis. The crucial role of osteoclasts in bone erosion

Two new single-cell RNA sequencing studies provide insights into how disease-associated genetic variants influence gene expression in immune cells.

Do you inform patients about risks and chances of success associated with different choices when treatment needs to be changed? This approach takes time and requires patient health literacy. Results from a discrete-choice experiment in scleroderma lung disease add to the debate on shared decision-making.

A new study suggests that drugs that stabilize the epigenetic regulator UHRF1 could offer a novel strategy for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Synovial tissue macrophages (STMs) were principally recognized as having a pro-inflammatory role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), serving as the main producers of pathogenic tumour necrosis factor (TNF). Recent advances in single-cell omics have facilitated the discovery of distinct STM populations, providing an atlas of discrete phenotypic clusters in the context of healthy and inflamed joints. Interrogation

Results from the R4RA clinical trial indicate that gene signatures in pre-treatment biopsy-derived synovial tissue can predict the response to biologic DMARDs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

New research has identified a novel, de novo mutation in the TLR7 gene that increases the affinity of TLR7 for guanosine, leading to TLR7 overactivation and child-onset systemic lupus erthematosus.

A detailed examination of skin cytology in cutaneous lupus erythematosus has identified cellular interactions and an inflammatory environment that exist prior to lesion formation.

The presence of disease-specific autoantibody responses and the efficacy of B cell-targeting therapies in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) indicate a pivotal role for B cells in disease pathogenesis. Important advances have shaped our understanding of the involvement of autoantibodies and autoreactive B cells in the disease process. In RA, autoantibodies target antigens with a variety of post-translational

New research reveals that outcomes for patients with rheumatoid arthritis are affected less by pre-existing comorbid conditions than by socioeconomic factors. Future research should address the mechanisms of this relationship and develop holistic treatment approaches that reduce disparities attributed to socioeconomic status.

Concerns have been raised that randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) in non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) might be failing to identify patients that best show differences in clinical response rates between those receiving active drug and those receiving placebo therapies; in addition, some studies might even be showing spurious differences in responses to TNF and IL-17 inhibitor

Discovery of B1R as the receptor for soluble CD13 identifies a potential new target for the treatment of inflammatory arthritis.

New research elucidates the functional effects of a genetic variant associated with autoimmune disease.

Low back pain is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is often associated with low back pain but is sometimes asymptomatic. IVD calcification is an often overlooked disc phenotype that might have considerable clinical impact. IVD calcification is not a rare finding in ageing or in degenerative and scoliotic spinal conditions, but is often ignored and under-reported

Ubiquitylation is an essential post-translational modification that regulates intracellular signalling networks by triggering proteasomal substrate degradation, changing the activity of substrates or mediating changes in proteins that interact with substrates. Hundreds of enzymes participate in reversible ubiquitylation of proteins, some acting globally and others targeting specific proteins. Ubiquitylation

The new ACR guideline for the treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis provides an update on several important topics, including management of oligoarthritis, temporomandibular joint arthritis and systemic-onset arthritis. Overall, the new guideline reflects changes in practice, but also highlights a concerning lack of high-quality evidence.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is part of a group of closely related clinical phenotypes (‘psoriatic disease’) that is defined by shared molecular pathogenesis resulting in excessive, prolonged inflammation in the various tissues affected, such as the skin, the entheses or the joints. Psoriatic disease comprises a set of specific drivers that promote an aberrant immune response and the consequent development

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), which acts via G protein-coupled S1P receptors (S1PRs), is a bioactive lipid essential for vascular integrity and lymphocyte trafficking. The S1P–S1PR signalling axis is a key component of the inflammatory response in autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Several drugs that target S1PRs have been approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease

New research demonstrates that a hydrogel-based miRNA delivery system might have therapeutic potential to treat osteoarthritis by targeting chondrocyte senescence.

New research demonstrates that the amino acid composition of the hypervariable CDR3 region of T cell receptors is influenced by the presence of HLA risk alleles for autoimmune disease.

Activation of endothelium and immune cells is fundamental to the initiation of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and it results in trans-endothelial cell migration and synovial fibroblast proliferation, leading to joint destruction. In RA, the synovial microvasculature is highly dysregulated, resulting in inefficient oxygen perfusion to the synovium, which, along with the high

The observations that traditional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors fail to fully account for the excessive cardiovascular mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) compared with the general population have prompted in-depth investigations of non-traditional, SLE-related risk factors that contribute to cardiovascular complications in patients with SLE. Of the various perturbations

New classification criteria for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis endorsed by ACR and EULAR reflect important developments in the field since the 1990 criteria were published, including bringing ANCA testing to the fore.

A machine learning approach has been used to identify three distinct osteoarthritis endotypes based on biochemical markers related to joint tissue processes.

New research has identified the therapeutic potential of a small-molecule inhibitor of the prostaglandin E2 receptor EP4 against pathophysiology and pain in osteoarthritis.

Low copy number of the complement component gene C4A is associated with the presence of autoantibodies and occurrence of systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease.

New research has identified an autoinflammatory syndrome caused by mutations in NEMO-encoding IKBKG, leading to NF-κB activation and type I interferon production.

New EULAR recommendations offer useful guidance for improving cardiovascular health in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease. However, an interdisciplinary model of care is crucial to the optimal management of cardiovascular risk in these patients.

The published results of the post-marketing ORAL Surveillance study, which compared the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor tofacitinib with anti-TNF therapy in older patients with rheumatoid arthritis who have cardiovascular risk factors, have led to changes in the recommendations for the use of JAK inhibitors. Although new safety signals have emerged for tofacitinib, namely malignancy and cardiovascular

The rise in the number of people aged 65 years and older living with inflammatory rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis is causing considerable challenges for clinicians. As patients get older, they are at an increased risk of multiple chronic diseases, a situation termed multimorbidity. Multimorbidity inevitably drives polypharmacy, where by a patient requires treatment with multiple medications

PLG nanoparticles that bind MARCO+ monocytes could offer a novel approach to treating fibrotic diseases, including systemic sclerosis.

Diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc) is associated with high mortality resulting from early internal-organ involvement. Clinicians therefore tend to focus on early diagnosis and treatment of potentially life-threatening cardiorespiratory and renal disease. However, the rapidly progressive painful, itchy skin tightening that characterizes dcSSc is the symptom that has the greatest effect on

New research shows that PD1 can be potentiated by freeing up its ligand, PDL1, from binding to CD80, thereby improving symptoms of autoimmune disease in animal models.

New research shows that induction of ferroptosis can deplete synovial fibroblasts that are activated in rheumatoid arthritis, and that co-treatment with a TNF inhibitor enhances this depletion.

Diagnosis and management of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) has vastly improved over the past two decades. With advances in the discernment of immunopathogenesis of this disease, new therapies have become available, which are associated with substantial improvement in symptoms, signs and quality of life. The four broad categories of approved treatment options are physical therapy and exercise (which

Generalized bone loss (osteoporosis) and fragility fractures can occur in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis (SpA; including ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis). In addition, rheumatoid arthritis can involve localized, periarticular bone erosion and, in SpA, local (pathological) bone formation can occur. The RANK–RANKL–osteoprotegerin