Publications
Find coverage of the latest original articles on Lupus, focusing on those with data on therapeutic interventions and those that have clinical impact.
This activity is supported by an educational grant from AstraZeneca.
Burden of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Clinical Practice: Baseline Data from the SLE Prospective Observational Cohort Study (SPOCS) by Interferon Gene Signature
Lupus Sci Med. 2023; 10(2):e001032 DOI: 10.1136/lupus-2023-001032
This study from Arnaud et al described baseline characteristics of SLE patients grouped by disease activity and IFNGS category in the international SPOCS study. IFNGS-high patients were younger at SLE diagnosis, and a baseline SLEDAI-2K score ≥10 was associated with shorter disease duration, more frequent and more severe flares. IFNGS-low patients were more likely to exhibit musculoskeletal and CNS comorbidities than IFNGS-high patients. Continuation of the SPOCS study will allow investigation into how different baseline characteristics affect long-term outcomes in SLE patients.
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2022 EULAR points to consider for the measurement, reporting and application of IFN-I pathway activation assays in clinical research and practice
Ann Rheum Dis. 2023 doi: 10.1136/ard-2022-223628
The first EULAR-endorsed points to consider (PtC) for the measurement and reporting of IFN-I assays in clinical research and practice are developed.
High Systemic Type I Interferon Activity Is Associated with Active Class III/IV Lupus Nephritis
The Journal of Rheumatology 2022; 49:388–97 DOI 10.3899/jrheum.210391
Iwamoto, et al. aimed to determine the association of serum IFN activity with subtypes of lupus nephritis. This study suggests that systemic high type I IFN in SLE is involved in the pathogenesis of severe class III/IV LN and contributes to severe kidney involvement in European-American patients with SLE. However, this effect was independent of anti‑dsDNA antibody status and complement levels. Expression of type I IFN was not found to be clearly related to plasmacytoid dendritic cell infiltration, although it did directly stimulate podocytes to induce chemokines and molecules related to podocyte injury.
Anifrolumab efficacy and safety by type I interferon gene signature and clinical subgroups in patients with SLE: post hoc analysis of pooled data from two phase III trials
Ann Rheum Dis. 2022; 0:1–11. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221425
IFN-I signalling plays a key role in SLE pathogenesis, and anifrolumab has demonstrated inhibitory effects on IFN-I signalling in patients with SLE. Vital, et al. characterised efficacy and safety of anifrolumab in patients with moderate-to-severe SLE based on interferon gene signature, demographic and clinical subgroups using data pooled from the Phase III TULIP-1 and -2 trials.
Anifrolumab, an Anti-Interferon-α Receptor Monoclonal Antibody, in Moderate-to-Severe Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Arthritis Rheumatol 2017;69:376–86
One of the challenges of treating SLE is the limited efficacy and poor tolerability of current therapies.