Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a highly heterogeneous syndrome in terms of clinical presentation, progression, and response to therapy. In such a complicated context, the identification of disease-related biomarkers would be undoubtedly helpful in assisting tailored approaches for every patient. Despite remarkable efforts, however, progress in new biomarker development and validation is dramatically slow. At present, none of the candidate genetic, cellular, or molecular biomarker has yet surpassed the clinical value of RA-specific autoantibodies, including rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-citrullinated protein autoantibodies (ACPA). Rather, recent years have witnessed significant advancements in our understanding of the multiple roles that RF and ACPA play in RA pathophysiology. This has helped clarifying the mechanistic basis of the clinical associations of autoantibodies in RA. In this short review, we will briefly summarize the effector functions of RF and ACPA, and analyse how autoantibodies may help subclassifying RA patients in terms of clinical presentation and response to therapy.
Highlights
Division of Rheumatology and Early Arthritis Clinic, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
None of the candidate genetic, cellular, or molecular biomarker has yet surpassed the clinical value of Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-specific autoantibodies, including rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-citrullinated protein autoantibodies (ACPA)
Recent years have witnessed significant advancements in our understanding of the multiple roles that RF and ACPA play in RA pathophysiology
Summary
Recent years have witnessed significant advancements in our understanding of the multiple roles that RF and ACPA play in RA pathophysiology This has helped clarifying the mechanistic basis of the clinical associations of autoantibodies in RA. Better understanding of disease pathogenesis has helped developing new targeted therapeutics that allow good control of signs and symptoms and improve the overall outcomes of the disease [3] Despite these remarkable advances, the management of patients with RA remains imprecise. The recent discovery of the direct pathogenetic roles of autoantibodies in RA [7] has refueled the possibility of using specific characteristics of the RF and ACPA response as clinically useful biomarkers In this short review, we will try to summarize the clinical associations of autoantibodies in RA in light of their mechanistic contribution to disease processes
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
