British researchers have made a breakthrough in the search for the causes of rheumatoid arthritis – identifying two genetic types of the disease.
The discovery is set to help in the search for the causes of the disease.
Researchers have believed for some time that at least some cases of the disease may be triggered by infections and immune system reactions.
About 70% of patients test positive for auto-antibodies – indicating that the immune system plays a part in the development of the disease. They are known as sero-positive.
The other 30% show no sign of this and are known as sero-positive.
Now the Manchester University researchers say they have identified a protein within the immune system with two genetic variations, linked to the sero-positive and sero-negative forms of disease.
They have reported their findings in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Researcher Dr Steve Eyre said: “We recognise that rheumatoid arthritis is a complex disease that can have variable presentation and outcomes for different people, in particular in the way they respond to treatment.
"These findings add to our ability to genetically define subtypes of rheumatoid arthritis, which is an important step towards selecting the best treatment for each patient.”
Professor Jane Worthington, director of the university’s Arthritis Research UK Centre, said: “Now that we have established a genetic basis for these two types of rheumatoid arthritis, we hope it will lead to patients receiving a swifter, accurate diagnosis and more appropriate, targeted treatment.
"These findings have opened the door to a better understanding of sero-negative rheumatoid arthritis.”
Fine Mapping Seronegative and Seropositive Rheumatoid Arthritis to Shared and Distinct HLA Alleles by Adjusting for the Effects of Heterogeneity. American Journal of Human Genetics 11 March 2014 [abstract]
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