Summary
This research project aims to understand the cellular and molecular basis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) heterogeneity in synovial tissue to improve disease course prediction and personalize treatment strategies.
AIM-for-RA
US · IL
NIH
grant
awarded
#nih-5UC2AR081025-04
What they want
The AIM-for-RA team will conduct a multi-site study involving 50 DMARD-naïve RA patients. Aim 1 will collect high-quality multimodal clinical phenotype and histology data, along with synovial tissue and other biosamples, to evaluate how synovial cellular and molecular pathways relate to disease onset. Aim 2 will involve longitudinal follow-up and repeat biopsy of these individuals after methotrexate monotherapy to address whether synovial signatures and multi-modal data predict first-line methotrexate response or failure. Aim 3 will investigate whether distinct synovial cellular or molecular features predict a positive response to biologic therapies in patients with methotrexate inadequate response. The overall goal is to relate disease-relevant synovial cellular pathways and dynamic crosstalk to environmental exposures, disease outcomes, and treatment response, thereby reconstructing the disease pathogenesis trajectory.
Deliverables
- High-quality multimodal clinical phenotype and histology data
- Synovial tissue and other biosamples
- Evaluation of how synovial cellular and molecular pathways relate to disease onset
- Prediction of first-line methotrexate response or failure based on synovial signatures and multi-modal data
- Identification of distinct synovial cellular or molecular features that predict positive response to biologic therapies
