The JAK inhibitor tofacitinib suppresses synovial JAK1-STAT signalling in rheumatoid arthritis

Ann Rheum Dis. 2014 Nov 14. pii: annrheumdis-2014-206028. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-206028. [Epub ahead of print]

Targeting intracellular pathways such as JAK/STAT represents a novel approach to the treatment of RA. Tofacitinib is an oral JAK inhibitor, proven to be effective in the treatment of RA, yet the pathways affected by tofacitinib and the effects on gene expression in situ are unknown. In this study, Boyle et al. tested the hypothesis that tofacitinib targets cytokine signalling critical to the pathogenesis of rheumatoid synovitis by investigating tofacitinib effects on synovial pathobiology.

May 2014

A major clinical imperative among rheumatologists is the ability to class patients into risk categories for radiographic progression. Indeed, identification of new independent biomarkers predictive of RA disease progression is a key target from OMERACT. This study by Maksymowych et al. sought to clarify the role of 14-3-3? in RA and whether it provided any clinically and/or serologically important prognostic information. First described as being elevated in RA in 2007, 14-3-3? has a strong corre...

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