Machine learning identifies clusters of longitudinal autoantibody profiles predictive of systemic lupus erythematosus disease outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: A novel longitudinal clustering technique was applied to comprehensive autoantibody data from a large, well-characterised, multinational inception systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) cohort to determine profiles predictive of clinical outcomes. METHODS: Demographic, clinical and serological data from 805 patients with SLE obtained within 15 months of diagnosis and at 3-year and 5-year follow-up were included. For each visit, sera were assessed for 29 antinuclear antibodies (ANA) immunofluorescence patterns and 20 autoantibodies. K-means clustering on principal component analysis-transformed longitudinal autoantibody profiles identified discrete phenotypic clusters. One-way analysis of variance compared cluster enrolment demographics and clinical outcomes at 10-year follow-up. Cox proportional hazards model estimated the HR for survival adjusting for age of disease onset. RESULTS: Cluster 1 (n=137, high frequency of anti-Smith, anti-U1RNP, AC-5 (large nuclear speckled pattern) and high ANA titres) had the highest cumulative disease activity and immunosuppressants/biologics use at year 10. Cluster 2 (n=376, low anti-double stranded DNA (dsDNA) and ANA titres) had the lowest disease activity, frequency of lupus nephritis and immunosuppressants/biologics use. Cluster 3 (n=80, highest frequency of all five antiphospholipid antibodies) had the highest frequency of seizures and hypocomplementaemia. Cluster 4 (n=212) also had high disease activity and was characterised by multiple autoantibody reactivity including to antihistone, anti-dsDNA, antiribosomal P, anti-Sjögren syndrome antigen A or Ro60, anti-Sjögren syndrome antigen B or La, anti-Ro52/Tripartite Motif Protein 21, antiproliferating cell nuclear antigen and anticentromere B). Clusters 1 (adjusted HR 2.60 (95% CI 1.12 to 6.05), p=0.03) and 3 (adjusted HR 2.87 (95% CI 1.22 to 6.74), p=0.02) had lower survival compared with cluster 2. CONCLUSION: Four discrete SLE patient longitudinal autoantibody clusters were predictive of long-term disease activity, organ involvement, treatment requirements and mortality risk.

Remission and low disease activity (LDA) prevent damage accrual in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: results from the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) inception cohort.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the independent impact of different definitions of remission and low disease activity (LDA) on damage accrual. METHODS: Patients with ≥2 annual assessments from a longitudinal multinational inception lupus cohort were studied. Five mutually exclusive disease activity states were defined: remission off-treatment: clinical Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (cSLEDAI)-2K=0, without prednisone or immunosuppressants; remission on-treatment: cSLEDAI-2K score=0, prednisone ≤5 mg/day and/or maintenance immunosuppressants; low disease activity Toronto cohort (LDA-TC): cSLEDAI-2K score of ≤2, without prednisone or immunosuppressants; modified lupus low disease activity (mLLDAS): Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index-2K score of 4 with no activity in major organ/systems, no new disease activity, prednisone ≤7.5 mg/day and/or maintenance immunosuppressants; active: all remaining visits. Only the most stringent definition was used per visit. Antimalarials were allowed in all. The proportion of time that patients were in a specific state at each visit since cohort entry was determined. Damage accrual was ascertained with the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index (SDI). Univariable and multivariable generalised estimated equation negative binomial regression models were used. Time-dependent covariates were determined at the same annual visit as the disease activity state but the SDI at the subsequent visit. RESULTS: There were 1652 patients, 1464 (88.6%) female, mean age at diagnosis 34.2 (SD 13.4) years and mean follow-up time of 7.7 (SD 4.8) years. Being in remission off-treatment, remission on-treatment, LDA-TC and mLLDAS (per 25% increase) were each associated with a lower probability of damage accrual (remission off-treatment: incidence rate ratio (IRR)=0.75, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.81; remission on-treatment: IRR=0.68, 95% CI 0.62 to 0.75; LDA: IRR=0.79, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.92; and mLLDAS: IRR=0.76, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.89)). CONCLUSIONS: Remission on-treatment and off-treatment, LDA-TC and mLLDAS were associated with less damage accrual, even adjusting for possible confounders and effect modifiers.

Longitudinal analysis of ANA in the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) Inception Cohort.

OBJECTIVES: A perception derived from cross-sectional studies of small systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) cohorts is that there is a marked discrepancy between antinuclear antibody (ANA) assays, which impacts on clinicians' approach to diagnosis and follow-up. We compared three ANA assays in a longitudinal analysis of a large international incident SLE cohort retested regularly and followed for 5 years. METHODS: Demographic, clinical and serological data was from 805 SLE patients at enrolment, year 3 and 5. Two HEp-2 indirect immunofluorescence assays (IFA1, IFA2), an ANA ELISA, and SLE-related autoantibodies were performed in one laboratory. Frequencies of positivity, titres or absorbance units (AU), and IFA patterns were compared using McNemar, Wilcoxon and kappa statistics, respectively. RESULTS: At enrolment, ANA positivity (≥1:80) was 96.1% by IFA1 (median titre 1:1280 (IQR 1:640-1:5120)), 98.3% by IFA2 (1:2560 (IQR 1:640-1:5120)) and 96.6% by ELISA (176.3 AU (IQR 106.4 AU-203.5 AU)). At least one ANA assay was positive for 99.6% of patients at enrolment. At year 5, ANA positivity by IFAs (IFA1 95.2%; IFA2 98.9%) remained high, while there was a decrease in ELISA positivity (91.3%, p<0.001). Overall, there was >91% agreement in ANA positivity at all time points and ≥71% agreement in IFA patterns between IFA1 and IFA2. CONCLUSION: In recent-onset SLE, three ANA assays demonstrated commutability with a high proportion of positivity and titres or AU. However, over 5 years follow-up, there was modest variation in ANA assay performance. In clinical situations where the SLE diagnosis is being considered, a negative test by either the ELISA or HEp-2 IFA may require reflex testing.

Flares after hydroxychloroquine reduction or discontinuation: results from the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) inception cohort.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) flares following hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) reduction or discontinuation versus HCQ maintenance. METHODS: We analysed prospective data from the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) cohort, enrolled from 33 sites within 15 months of SLE diagnosis and followed annually (1999-2019). We evaluated person-time contributed while on the initial HCQ dose ('maintenance'), comparing this with person-time contributed after a first dose reduction, and after a first HCQ discontinuation. We estimated time to first flare, defined as either subsequent need for therapy augmentation, increase of ≥4 points in the SLE Disease Activity Index-2000, or hospitalisation for SLE. We estimated adjusted HRs (aHRs) with 95% CIs associated with reducing/discontinuing HCQ (vs maintenance). We also conducted separate multivariable hazard regressions in each HCQ subcohort to identify factors associated with flare. RESULTS: We studied 1460 (90% female) patients initiating HCQ. aHRs for first SLE flare were 1.20 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.38) and 1.56 (95% CI 1.31 to 1.86) for the HCQ reduction and discontinuation groups, respectively, versus HCQ maintenance. Patients with low educational level were at particular risk of flaring after HCQ discontinuation (aHR 1.43, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.87). Prednisone use at time-zero was associated with over 1.5-fold increase in flare risk in all HCQ subcohorts. CONCLUSIONS: SLE flare risk was higher after HCQ taper/discontinuation versus HCQ maintenance. Decisions to maintain, reduce or stop HCQ may affect specific subgroups differently, including those on prednisone and/or with low education. Further study of special groups (eg, seniors) may be helpful.

Anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I IgA in the SLICC classification criteria dataset.

OBJECTIVE: Anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I IgA is a common isotype of anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I in SLE. Anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I was not included in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) SLE classification criteria, but was included in the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) criteria. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of anti-beta 2-glycoprotein I IgA in SLE versus other rheumatic diseases. In addition, we examined the association between anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I IgA and disease manifestations in SLE. METHODS: The dataset consisted of 1384 patients, 657 with a consensus physician diagnosis of SLE and 727 controls with other rheumatic diseases. Anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I isotypes were measured by ELISA. Patients with a consensus diagnosis of SLE were compared to controls with respect to presence of anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I. Among patients with SLE, we assessed the association between anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I IgA and clinical manifestations. RESULTS: The prevalence of anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I IgA was 14% in SLE patients and 7% in rheumatic disease controls (odds ratio, OR 2.3, 95% CI: 1.6, 3.3). It was more common in SLE patients who were younger patients and of African descent (p = 0.019). Eleven percent of SLE patients had anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I IgA alone (no anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I IgG or IgM). There was a significant association between anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I IgA and anti-dsDNA (p = 0.001) and the other antiphospholipid antibodies (p = 0.0004). There was no significant correlation of anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I IgA with any of the other ACR or SLICC clinical criteria for SLE. Those with anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I IgA tended to have a history of thrombosis (12% vs 6%, p = 0.071), but the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: We found the anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I IgA isotype to be more common in patients with SLE and in particular, with African descent. It could occur alone without other isotypes.

Neuropsychiatric events in systemic lupus erythematosus: a longitudinal analysis of outcomes in an international inception cohort using a multistate model approach.

OBJECTIVES: Using a reversible multistate model, we prospectively examined neuropsychiatric (NP) events for attribution, outcome and association with health-related quality of life (HRQoL), in an international, inception cohort of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. METHODS: Annual assessments for 19 NP events attributed to SLE and non-SLE causes, physician determination of outcome and patient HRQoL (short-form (SF)-36 scores) were measured. Time-to-event analysis and multistate modelling examined the onset, recurrence and transition between NP states. RESULTS: NP events occurred in 955/1827 (52.3%) patients and 592/1910 (31.0%) unique events were attributed to SLE. In the first 2 years of follow-up the relative risk (95% CI) for SLE NP events was 6.16 (4.96, 7.66) and non-SLE events was 4.66 (4.01, 5.43) compared with thereafter. Patients without SLE NP events at initial assessment had a 74% probability of being event free at 10 years. For non-SLE NP events the estimate was 48%. The majority of NP events resolved over 10 years but mortality was higher in patients with NP events attributed to SLE (16%) versus patients with no NPSLE events (6%) while the rate was comparable in patients with non-SLE NP events (7%) compared with patients with no non-SLE events (6%). Patients with NP events had lower SF-36 summary scores compared with those without NP events and resolved NP states (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: NP events occur most frequently around the diagnosis of SLE. Although the majority of events resolve they are associated with reduced HRQoL and excess mortality. Multistate modelling is well suited for the assessment of NP events in SLE.

Use of combined hormonal contraceptives among women with systemic lupus erythematosus with and without medical contraindications to oestrogen.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of combined hormonal contraceptives (CHCs) in reproductive-age women with SLE with and without possible contraindications and to determine factors associated with their use in the presence of possible contraindications. METHODS: This observational cohort study included premenopausal women ages 18-45 years enrolled in the SLICC Registry ⩽15 months after SLE onset, with annual assessments spanning 2000-2017. World Health Organization Category 3 or 4 contraindications to CHCs (e.g. hypertension, aPL) were assessed at each study visit. High disease activity (SLEDAI score >12 or use of >0.5 mg/kg/day of prednisone) was considered a relative contraindication. RESULTS: A total of 927 SLE women contributed 6315 visits, of which 3811 (60%) occurred in the presence of one or more possible contraindication to CHCs. Women used CHCs during 512 (8%) visits, of which 281 (55%) took place in the setting of one or more possible contraindication. The most frequently observed contraindications were aPL (52%), hypertension (34%) and migraine with aura (22%). Women with one or more contraindication were slightly less likely to be taking CHCs [7% of visits (95% CI 7, 8)] than women with no contraindications [9% (95% CI 8, 10)]. CONCLUSION: CHC use was low compared with general population estimates (>35%) and more than half of CHC users had at least one possible contraindication. Many yet unmeasured factors, including patient preferences, may have contributed to these observations. Further work should also aim to clarify outcomes associated with this exposure.

Linaclotide in irritable bowel syndrome with constipation: A Phase 3 randomized trial in China and other regions.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Linaclotide is a guanylate cyclase-C agonist approved in multiple countries to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). China has unmet need for well-tolerated therapy that is effective in treating both bowel and abdominal symptoms of IBS-C. This trial evaluated linaclotide's efficacy and safety in IBS-C patients in China and other regions. METHODS: This Phase 3, double-blind trial randomized IBS-C patients to once-daily oral 290-µg linaclotide or placebo at centers in China, North America, and Oceania. Patients reported bowel and abdominal symptoms daily; adverse events were monitored. Co-primary and secondary endpoints were tested using a predefined three-step serial gatekeeping multiple comparisons procedure. RESULTS: The intent-to-treat population included 839 patients (mean age = 41 years; 82% female; 81% Asian). The trial met all co-primary and secondary endpoints. Co-primary responder criteria were met by 60.0% of linaclotide patients versus 48.8% of placebo patients for abdominal pain/discomfort (≥ 30% decrease for ≥ 6/12 weeks; P < 0.05), and 31.7% of linaclotide versus 15.4% of placebo patients for IBS degree of relief (score ≤ 2 for ≥ 6/12 weeks; P < 0.0001). Secondary 12-week change-from-baseline endpoints (spontaneous bowel movement/complete spontaneous bowel movement frequency, stool consistency, straining, abdominal pain, abdominal discomfort, and abdominal bloating) were significantly improved with linaclotide versus placebo (all P < 0.0001). Diarrhea was the most common adverse event (9.4% linaclotide, 1.2% placebo). Discontinuation rates due to diarrhea were low (0.7% linaclotide, 0.2% placebo). CONCLUSIONS: Once-daily 290-µg linaclotide improved bowel habits, abdominal symptoms, and global measures in a predominantly Chinese IBS-C population.

Factors associated with damage accrual in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: results from the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) Inception Cohort.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: We studied damage accrual and factors determining development and progression of damage in an international cohort of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. METHODS: The Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) Inception Cohort recruited patients within 15 months of developing four or more 1997 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for SLE; the SLICC/ACR damage index (SDI) was measured annually. We assessed relative rates of transition using maximum likelihood estimation in a multistate model. The Kaplan-Meier method estimated the probabilities for time to first increase in SDI score and Cox regression analysis was used to assess mortality. RESULTS: We recruited 1722 patients; mean (SD) age 35.0 (13.4) years at cohort entry. Patients with damage at enrolment were more likely to have further worsening of SDI (SDI 0 vs ≥1; p<0.001). Age, USA African race/ethnicity, SLEDAI-2K score, steroid use and hypertension were associated with transition from no damage to damage, and increase(s) in pre-existing damage. Male gender (relative transition rates (95% CI) 1.48 (1.06 to 2.08)) and USA Caucasian race/ethnicity (1.63 (1.08 to 2.47)) were associated with SDI 0 to ≥1 transitions; Asian race/ethnicity patients had lower rates of new damage (0.60 (0.39 to 0.93)). Antimalarial use was associated with lower rates of increases in pre-existing damage (0.63 (0.44 to 0.89)). Damage was associated with future mortality (HR (95% CI) 1.46 (1.18 to 1.81) per SDI point). CONCLUSIONS: Damage in SLE predicts future damage accrual and mortality. We identified several potentially modifiable risk factors for damage accrual; an integrated strategy to address these may improve long-term outcomes.

Anti-KIF20B autoantibodies are associated with cranial neuropathy in systemic lupus erythematosus.

BACKGROUND: Cranial neuropathies (CN) are a rare neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE) manifestation. Previous studies reported that antibodies to the kinesin family member 20B (KIF20B) (anti-KIF20B) protein were associated with idiopathic ataxia and CN. We assessed anti-KIF20B as a potential biomarker for NPSLE in an international SLE inception cohort. METHODS: Individuals fulfilling the revised 1997 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) SLE classification criteria were enrolled from 31 centres from 1999 to 2011 and followed annually in the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus International Collaborating Clinics inception cohort. Anti-KIF20B testing was performed on baseline (within 15 months of diagnosis or first annual visit) samples using an addressable laser bead immunoassay. Logistic regression (penalised maximum likelihood and adjusting for confounding variables) examined the association between anti-KIF20B and NPSLE manifestations (1999 ACR case definitions), including CN, occurring over the first 5 years of follow-up. RESULTS: Of the 1827 enrolled cohort members, baseline serum and 5 years of follow-up data were available on 795 patients who were included in this study: 29.8% were anti-KIF20B-positive, 88.7% female, and 52.1% White. The frequency of anti-KIF20B positivity differed only for those with CN (n=10) versus without CN (n=785) (70.0% vs 29.3%; OR 5.2, 95% CI 1.4, 18.5). Compared with patients without CN, patients with CN were more likely to fulfil the ACR haematological (90.0% vs 66.1%; difference 23.9%, 95% CI 5.0%, 42.8%) and ANA (100% vs 95.7%; difference 4.3%, 95% CI 2.9%, 5.8%) criteria. In the multivariate analysis adjusting for age at baseline, female, White race and ethnicity, and ACR haematological and ANA criteria, anti-KIF20B positivity remained associated with CN (OR 5.2, 95% CI 1.4, 19.1). CONCLUSION: Anti-KIF20B is a potential biomarker for SLE-related CN. Further studies are needed to examine how autoantibodies against KIF20B, which is variably expressed in a variety of neurological cells, contribute to disease pathogenesis.

Clinical associations of the metabolic syndrome in systemic lupus erythematosus: data from an international inception cohort.

BACKGROUND: The metabolic syndrome (MetS) may contribute to increased cardiovascular risk in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We aimed to examine the association of demographic factors, lupus phenotype and therapy exposure with the presence of MetS. METHODS: The Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics Registry for Atherosclerosis inception cohort enrolled recently diagnosed (<15 months) SLE patients from 30 centres across 11 countries from 2000. Clinical, laboratory and therapeutic data were collected according to a standardised protocol. MetS was defined according to the 2009 consensus statement from the International Diabetes Federation. Univariate and backward stepwise multivariate logistic regression were used to assess the relationship of individual variables with MetS. RESULTS: We studied 1686 patients, of whom 1494 (86.6%) had sufficient data to determine their MetS status. The mean (SD) age at enrolment and disease duration was 35.2 years (13.4) and 24.1 weeks (18.0), respectively. MetS was present at the enrolment visit in 239 (16%). In backward stepwise multivariable regression analysis, higher daily average prednisolone dose (mg) (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.03), older age (years) (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.06), Korean (OR 6.33, 95% CI 3.68 to 10.86) and Hispanic (OR 6.2, 95% CI 3.78 to 10.12) ethnicity, current renal disease (OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.14 to 2.80) and immunosuppressant use (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.18 to 2.78) were associated with MetS. CONCLUSIONS: Renal lupus, higher corticosteroid doses, Korean and Hispanic ethnicity are associated with MetS in SLE patients. Balancing disease control and minimising corticosteroid exposure should therefore be at the forefront of personalised treatment decisions in SLE patients.

Acculturative stress and eating disorder psychopathology: A meta-analysis.

The present meta-analysis aims to extend Doris and colleagues' (2015) systematic review and address the comprehensive, quantitative gap in the relation between acculturative stress and eating disorder psychopathology reported by studies in the past 20 years. A total of 14 eligible studies were included in our meta-analysis. Across all study samples, there were 2681 participants. The overall relation between eating disorder psychopathology and acculturative stress measurements was examined. Moderation analyses were run to investigate the substantial heterogeneity detected between studies. Results indicated a small effect size for the relationship between eating pathology behaviors and acculturative stress. These results provide insight for clinicians working with individuals who are experiencing acculturative stress, as well as highlight future research directions.

A Provider-Based Approach to Address Racial Disparities in Lupus Clinical Trial Participation.

OBJECTIVE: Substantial disparities exist in clinical trial participation, which is problematic in diseases such as lupus that disproportionately affect racial/ethnic minority populations. Our objective was to examine the effectiveness of an online educational course aiming to train medical providers to refer Black and Latino patients to lupus clinical trials (LCTs). METHODS: The American College of Rheumatology's Materials to Increase Minority Involvement in Clinical Trials (MIMICT) study used an online, randomized, 2-group, pretest/posttest design with medical and nursing providers of multiple specialties. We exposed intervention group participants to an education course, while the control group participants received no intervention. Controlling for the effects of participant characteristics, including specialty, and professional experience with lupus, we modeled relationships among exposure to the education course and changes in knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and intentions to refer Black and Latino patients to LCTs. We also examined education course satisfaction. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the intervention group had significantly higher posttest scores for knowledge, self-efficacy, and intentions to refer Black and Latino patients to LCTs. Both medical and nursing trained intervention group participants had significantly higher mean posttest scores for knowledge and intentions to refer compared to the medical and nursing trained control group participants. Attitude was insignificant in analysis. The online education course, which received a favorable summary score, indicated that satisfaction and intentions to refer were strongly and positively correlated. CONCLUSION: The MIMICT education course is an effective method to educate medical providers about LCTs and to improve their intentions to refer Black and Latino patients.

Seizure disorders in systemic lupus erythematosus results from an international, prospective, inception cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe the frequency, attribution, outcome and predictors of seizures in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: The Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics, or SLICC, performed a prospective inception cohort study. Demographic variables, global SLE disease activity (SLE Disease Activity Index 2000), cumulative organ damage (SLICC/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index (SDI)) and neuropsychiatric events were recorded at enrolment and annually. Lupus anticoagulant, anticardiolipin, anti-ß(2) glycoprotein-I, antiribosomal P and anti-NR2 glutamate receptor antibodies were measured at enrolment. Physician outcomes of seizures were recorded. Patient outcomes were derived from the SF-36 (36-Item Short Form Health Survey) mental component summary and physical component summary scores. Statistical analyses included Cox and linear regressions. RESULTS: The cohort was 89.4% female with a mean follow-up of 3.5±2.9 years. Of 1631 patients, 75 (4.6%) had ≥1 seizure, the majority around the time of SLE diagnosis. Multivariate analysis indicated a higher risk of seizures with African race/ethnicity (HR (CI): 1.97 (1.07 to 3.63); p=0.03) and lower education status (1.97 (1.21 to 3.19); p<0.01). Higher damage scores (without neuropsychiatric variables) were associated with an increased risk of subsequent seizures (SDI=1:3.93 (1.46 to 10.55); SDI=2 or 3:1.57 (0.32 to 7.65); SDI≥4:7.86 (0.89 to 69.06); p=0.03). There was an association with disease activity but not with autoantibodies. Seizures attributed to SLE frequently resolved (59/78 (76%)) in the absence of antiseizure drugs. There was no significant impact on the mental component summary or physical component summary scores. Antimalarial drugs in the absence of immunosuppressive agents were associated with reduced seizure risk (0.07 (0.01 to 0.66); p=0.03). CONCLUSION: Seizures occurred close to SLE diagnosis, in patients with African race/ethnicity, lower educational status and cumulative organ damage. Most seizures resolved without a negative impact on health-related quality of life. Antimalarial drugs were associated with a protective effect.

Is low dose inhaled corticosteroid therapy as effective for inflammation and remodeling in asthma? A randomized, parallel group study.

BACKGROUND: While most of the clinical benefits of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) therapy may occur at low doses, results of dose-ranging studies are inconsistent. Although symptom/lung function response to low and high dose ICS medication is comparable, it is uncertain whether low dose ICSs are as effective as high dose in the treatment of inflammation and remodeling. METHODS: 22 mild or moderate asthmatic adult subjects (corticosteroid free for > 2 months) participated in a randomized, parallel group study to compare effects of fluticasone propionate (FP) 200 mcg/day and 1000 mcg/day. Alveolar macrophage (AM)-derived cytokines and basement membrane thickness (BMT) were measured at baseline and after 7 weeks treatment while symptoms, spirometry, exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) to mannitol at baseline and 6 weeks. RESULTS: FP improved spirometry, eNO, symptoms and AHR with no difference between low and high dose FP. Both high and low dose FP reduced GM-CSF, TNF-alpha and IL-1ra, with no change in BMT and with no differences between low and high dose FP. CONCLUSIONS: 200 µg/day of FP was as effective as 1000 µg/day in improving asthma control, airway inflammation, lung function and AHR in adults in the short term. Future studies should examine potential differential effects between low and high dose combination therapy (ICS/long acting beta agonist) on inflammation and airway remodeling over longer treatment periods.

Rhinovirus infection induces extracellular matrix protein deposition in asthmatic and nonasthmatic airway smooth muscle cells.

Airway remodeling, which includes increases in the extracellular matrix (ECM), is a characteristic feature of asthma and is correlated to disease severity. Rhinovirus (RV) infections are associated with increased risk of asthma development in young children and are the most common cause of asthma exacerbations. We examined whether viral infections can increase ECM deposition and whether this increased ECM modulates cell proliferation and migration. RV infection of nonasthmatic airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells significantly increased the deposition of fibronectin (40% increase, n = 12) and perlecan (80% increase, n = 14), while infection of asthmatic ASM cells significantly increased fibronectin (75% increase, n = 9) and collagen IV (15% increase, n = 9). We then treated the ASM cells with the Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid, imiquimod, and pure RV RNA and were able to show that the mechanism through which RV induced ECM deposition was via the activation of TLR3 and TLR7/8. Finally, we assessed whether the virus-induced ECM was bioactive by measuring the amount of migration and proliferation of virus-naive cells that seeded onto the ECM. Basically, ECM from asthmatic ASM cells induced twofold greater migration of virus-naive ASM cells than ECM from nonasthmatic ASM cells, and these rates of migration were further increased on RV-modulated ECM. Increased migration on the RV-modulated ECM was not due to increased cell proliferation, as RV-modulated ECM decreased the proliferation of virus-naive cells. Our results suggest that viruses may contribute to airway remodeling through increased ECM deposition, which in turn may contribute to increased ASM mass via increased cell migration.

Rhinovirus infection induces expression of airway remodelling factors in vitro and in vivo.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: A hallmark of asthma is airway remodelling, which includes increased deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) protein. Viral infections may promote the development of asthma and are the most common causes of asthma exacerbations. We evaluated whether rhinovirus (RV) infection induces airway remodelling, as assessed by ECM deposition. METHODS: Primary human bronchial epithelial cells and lung parenchymal fibroblasts were infected with RV-2 or RV-16, or treated with RV-16 RNA, imiquimod (Toll-like receptor (TLR) 7/8 agonist) or polyinosinic : polycytidylic acid (poly I : C) (activator of TLR 3, retinoic-acid-inducible protein I and melanoma-differentiated-associated gene 5). Changes in ECM proteins and their transcription were measured by ELISA and quantitative real-time PCR. In addition, gene expression for ECM proteins was assessed in a mouse model of RV infection. RESULTS: RV infection increased deposition of the ECM protein, perlecan, by human bronchial epithelial cells, and collagen V and matrix-bound vascular endothelial growth factor were increased in both human bronchial epithelial cell and fibroblast cultures. Purified RV-16 RNA, poly I : C and imiquimod induced similar increases in ECM deposition to those observed with RV-infected fibroblasts. However, only poly I : C induced ECM deposition by bronchial epithelial cells, suggesting that RV-induced ECM deposition is mediated through TLR. Furthermore, gene expression for fibronectin and collagen I was increased in lung homogenates of mice infected with RV-1b. CONCLUSIONS: RV infection and TLR ligands promote ECM deposition in isolated cell systems and RV induces ECM gene expression in vivo, thus demonstrating that RV has the potential to contribute to remodelling of the airways through induction of ECM deposition.

Comparison of the 2019 European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology/American College of Rheumatology Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Classification Criteria With Two Sets of Earlier Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Classification Criteria.

OBJECTIVE: The Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) 2012 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) classification criteria and the revised American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1997 criteria are list based, counting each SLE manifestation equally. We derived a classification rule based on giving variable weights to the SLICC criteria and compared its performance to the revised ACR 1997, the unweighted SLICC 2012, and the newly reported European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR)/ACR 2019 criteria sets. METHODS: The physician-rated patient scenarios used to develop the SLICC 2012 classification criteria were reemployed to devise a new weighted classification rule using multiple linear regression. The performance of the rule was evaluated on an independent set of expert-diagnosed patient scenarios and compared to the performance of the previously reported classification rules. RESULTS: The weighted SLICC criteria and the EULAR/ACR 2019 criteria had less sensitivity but better specificity compared to the list-based revised ACR 1997 and SLICC 2012 classification criteria. There were no statistically significant differences between any pair of rules with respect to overall agreement with the physician diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The 2 new weighted classification rules did not perform better than the existing list-based rules in terms of overall agreement on a data set originally generated to assess the SLICC criteria. Given the added complexity of summing weights, researchers may prefer the unweighted SLICC criteria. However, the performance of a classification rule will always depend on the populations from which the cases and non-cases are derived and whether the goal is to prioritize sensitivity or specificity.

Phase II, randomised, double-blind, multicentre study evaluating the safety and efficacy of filgotinib and lanraplenib in patients with lupus membranous nephropathy.

OBJECTIVES: Patients with lupus membranous nephropathy (LMN) are at risk for prolonged proteinuria and progressive chronic kidney disease. There are no proven effective treatments for LMN, and controlled trials are lacking. This trial assessed the preferential Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) inhibitor filgotinib and the spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor lanraplenib in patients with LMN. METHODS: This was a phase II, randomised, double-blind trial conducted at 15 centres in the USA to evaluate the safety and efficacy of filgotinib or lanraplenib for the treatment of LMN. Eligible patients were randomised 1:1 to receive either filgotinib or lanraplenib in a blinded fashion for up to 52 weeks. The primary endpoint was the per cent change in 24-hour urine protein from baseline to week 16. RESULTS: Nine patients were randomised to receive filgotinib (n=5) or lanraplenib (n=4). Four patients in the filgotinib group and one patient in the lanraplenib group completed week 16. There was a median reduction of 50.7% in 24-hour urine protein after 16 weeks of treatment with filgotinib (n=4), and the median Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index from the Safety of Estrogens in Lupus National Assessment score remained stable. Filgotinib treatment was well tolerated. Limited conclusions can be drawn about treatment with lanraplenib. CONCLUSION: The number of patients treated in this study was small, and only limited conclusions can be drawn. There may be a therapeutic benefit with filgotinib treatment, which may support future investigations with filgotinib or other JAK inhibitors in patients with LMN. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03285711.