Immunology of rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that is characterized by inflammation of synovial joints and often leads to progressive joint damage, functional disability and systemic effects in multiple organs. Although a range of therapies is available to treat RA, many patients do not have an adequate response to treatment and few achieve remission. An in-depth understanding of the immunological processes underlying the various aspects of RA could advance the development of novel therapeutics.
In this Focus on the immunology of RA, the four specially commissioned Review articles provide an update on areas of research in RA that have seen notable advances in the past few years, including new insights into the development and persistence of the autoantibody response, the influence of metabolism and its perturbations, the role of synovial tissue macrophages, and the mechanisms of joint destruction.
