Relationships between Type 1 interferon signatures and clinical features of the new-onset lupus patients in Japan.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study is to investigate the relationships between Type 1 interferon (T1-IFN) signatures and clinical characteristics of lupus patients. METHODS: We examined 49 new-onset lupus patients who were diagnosed between 1999 and 2017. The patients treated with >10 mg of prednisolone or hydroxychloroquine were excluded from this study. Serum T1-IFN signatures were revealed by a functional reporter assay and standardized by recombinant IFN-α. Patient backgrounds, clinical findings, and treatments were retrospectively extracted from their electrical medical records. Clinical data were also available, including SLE Disease Activity Index of SLE patients on admission. RESULTS: T1-IFN signatures of lupus patients closely correlated with lupus disease activities, such as SLE Disease Activity Index-2K, white blood cell, C3 levels, and the titre of double-strand DNA antibody. We found fever and acute lupus dermatitis closely associated with T1-IFN signature. CONCLUSIONS: In lupus patients, fever and acute lupus dermatitis are good indicators of a strong T1-IFN signature.

Cluster analysis defines four groups of Japanese patients with adult-onset Still's disease.

OBJECTIVES: To define groups and characterize differences in the prognosis of patients with adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD). METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study. Patients with AOSD were grouped using hierarchical unsupervised cluster analysis according to age, sex, clinical features, and laboratory data. The primary endpoints were overall survival and drug-free remission rate. RESULTS: A total of 153 patients with AOSD were placed into four clusters. Those in Cluster 1 had a young onset, tended to be female, and had fewer complications and moderate ferritin concentrations. Those in Cluster 2 had a young onset and had more complications and higher ferritin concentrations. Those in Cluster 3 had a young onset, tended to be male, and had no lymphadenopathy and fewer complications. Those in Cluster 4 had an older onset, tended to be female, and had more complications and higher ferritin concentrations. Overall survival tended to be lower (P = .0539) in Cluster 4, and drug-free remission was higher in Clusters 1, 2, and 3 [hazard ratios (HRs) 2.19, 3.37, and 3.62 vs. Cluster 4, respectively]. CONCLUSIONS: Four groups of AOSD that have distinct clinical manifestations, ferritin concentrations, severity, and drug-free remission rate were identified, which were lowest in Cluster 4. Graphical Abstract.

Usefulness of the severity classification for predicting drug-free remission in Japanese patients with adult-onset Still's disease.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the usefulness of severity classification for predicting outcomes in patients with adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD). METHODS: This was a multi-centre retrospective cohort study. AOSD patients were classified into mild, moderate, and severe groups based on severity classification (Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) during the initial treatment, and clinical features were compared among these groups. The primary endpoints were the AOSD-related mortality and drug-free remission rate. For comparison, the same analysis was performed in parallel for patient groups stratified by the modified Pouchot systemic score. RESULTS: According to severity classification, 49 (35%), 37 (26%), and 56 patients (39%) were classified into mild, moderate, and severe groups, respectively. Patients in the severe group showed higher frequency of severe complications and the use of biological agents. Although AOSD-related survival was not significantly different (p = .0776), four of the five fatal cases were classified into the severe group. The severe group showed a reduced rate of drug-free remission (p = .0125). Patient groups classified by systemic score did not correlate with survival or drug-free remission. CONCLUSIONS: Severity classification is useful for predicting outcomes in patients with AOSD.

Clinical features of elderly-onset Adult-onset Still's disease.

OBJECTIVES: To clarify the characteristics of patients with elderly-onset Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD). METHODS: Patients were classified into elderly-onset (>60 years: 47 patients) and younger-onset (≤60 years: 95 patients) groups according to their age at diagnosis of AOSD. Clinical features, treatments, and prognosis were compared between the elderly-onset and younger-onset groups. RESULTS: In the elderly-onset group, compared with the younger-onset group, typical skin rashes were less frequent (21.3% vs 58.9%, respectively; p < .0001), whereas pleuritis (27.7% vs 7.4%, respectively; p = .0011) and disseminated intravascular coagulation (19.1% vs 2.1%, respectively; p = .0004) were more frequent, and serum ferritin levels were higher (median 12,700 ng/ml vs 2526 ng/ml, respectively; p < .0001). Overall survival and AOSD-related survival were reduced (p = .0006 and p = .0023, respectively) and drug-free remission was less frequent (p = .0035) in the elderly-onset group compared with the younger-onset group. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that elderly-onset AOSD patients had several characteristics that differed from younger-onset AOSD patients, including less typical skin lesions, more AOSD-related complications, higher ferritin levels, and poorer prognoses.

Rituximab maintenance therapy for patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis in Japan.

OBJECTIVES: We examined the efficacy and safety of rituximab (RTX) maintenance therapy for patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) in Japan. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study using a multi-center cohort database of vasculitis patients. All maintenance treatment courses were divided into three groups: a RTX group, a group treated with other immunosuppressant drugs (IS) and a group receiving glucocorticoid monotherapy (GC). The primary endpoint was the comparison of relapse-free survival after 1 year. We also analyzed the occurrence of severe adverse events (SAEs) to assess safety. RESULTS: We included 123 courses of 107 patients (RTX n = 14, IS n = 64, GC n = 45). Twelve of 14 in the RTX group patients were diagnosed with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). The relapse-free survival of RTX maintenance therapy was comparable to that in the other groups (p = .122). After 1 year of treatment, the RTX group was administered lower steroid doses and one-third of them could withdraw corticosteroid. The overall incidence of SAE was 0.54/patient-year in the RTX group, 0.39/patient-year in the IS group and 0.34/patient-year in the GC group. CONCLUSION: RTX maintenance therapy could be effective and safe in Japanese GPA patients.

The relationship between type 1 IFN and vasculopathy in anti-MDA5 antibody-positive dermatomyositis patients.

OBJECTIVE: Based on the antibody profiles of inflammatory myositis patients, we investigated the type 1 IFN (T1-IFN) signature in serum and DM skin to determine the relationship between T1-IFN and vasculopathy in anti-melanoma differentiation-associated 5 gene (MDA5) antibody-positive DM patients. METHODS: We examined 47 patients with new-onset inflammatory myositis. We divided them into three groups: the anti-MDA5 antibody-positive patients (MDA5 group, n = 16), the anti-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase antibody-positive patients (aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase group, n = 12), and the double-negative patients (n = 19). Serum T1-IFN signatures were revealed by a functional reporter assay, and we evaluated the T1-IFN signatures of skin based on Mx1 expression by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The numbers of patients with classical DM, clinically amyopathic DM and interstitial lung disease were 1, 15 and 13 in the MDA5 group, 2, 3 and 11 in the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase group, and 10, 1 and 4 in the double-negative group, respectively. The signs of vasculopathies (i.e. palmer papules, skin ulcers and mononeuritis multiplex) were identified only in the MDA5 patients. Most of the MDA5 group showed the highest serum T1-IFN signatures among the three groups. In the histological analysis of DM skin, perivascular inflammations were significant in the MDA5 group. The MDA5 group's Mx1 expression was significantly strong, distributed in blood vessels and interstitial fibroblasts, and had spread to deep dermis. CONCLUSION: Anti-MDA5 antibody-positive DM patients showed high T1-IFN signatures in serum and affected skin. The high T1-IFN signatures of the MDA5 antibody-positive DM patients in serum and deep vasculatures suggested that T1-IFN may have important roles in the vasculopathy of these patients.

Are the 2016 EULAR/ACR/PRINTO classification criteria for macrophage activation syndrome applicable to patients with adult-onset Still's disease?

The objectives of this study are to determine whether the 2016 European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology/Paediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organization classification criteria for macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) complicating systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) can be used to identify MAS in patients with adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD). Using laboratory data from 76 AOSD patients with and without MAS, we analyzed the ability of the collective and individual constitutive elements of the 2016 MAS in SJIA criteria and additional laboratory measures to discriminate between AOSD patients with (n = 16) and without (n = 60) MAS. Cutoff values to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were calculated from receiver operating characteristic curves, and modified classification criteria for MAS in AOSD were evaluated. The 2016 MAS in SJIA classification criteria had an overall sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 70.0%, positive predictive value of 47.1%, and negative predictive value of 100% to discriminate between AOSD patients with and without MAS based on laboratory data. Among the individual criteria, the sensitivity of triglycerides (46.7%) and the specificity of ferritin (15.0%) for MAS in AOSD were particularly low. The sensitivity and specificity for classifying MAS in AOSD patients were increased to 100 and 93%, respectively, by excluding triglycerides and changing the cutoff values for other criteria in the 2016 MAS in SJIA classification. The 2016 classification criteria for MAS in SJIA had higher sensitivity but lower specificity to identify MAS in AOSD patients compared with SJIA patients.

The balance between Foxp3 and Ror-γt expression in peripheral blood is altered by tocilizumab and abatacept in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: The balance between Th17 cells and regulatory T (Treg) cells has been shown to play an important role in the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Recent studies have shown that treatment with abatacept (ABT) or tocilizumab (TCZ) affects Th17 and Treg cell populations. Although not unanimously accepted, several reports have shown that Treg cells are decreased by ABT and increased by TCZ, and that Th17 cells are decreased by TCZ. To further investigate the effects of ABT and TCZ on the skewing of T cell populations, we analyzed the expression of master regulators genes of helper T cell lineages following ABT/TCZ treatment of RA patients. METHODS: Ten patients treated with ABT and 10 patients treated with TCZ were enrolled. Total RNA was extracted from peripheral blood cells at baseline, and after 12 and 24 weeks of therapy. The expression levels of T-bet, GATA3, Foxp3 and Ror-γt were semi-quantified using real-time PCR. The relative expression levels were expressed as the ratios of two genes (T-bet/GATA3, Foxp3/GATA3, Foxp3/T-bet, Foxp3/Ror-γt, Ror-γt/T-bet, Ror-γt/GATA3), and the changes in these ratios with treatment were determined. RESULTS: The Foxp3/Ror-γt ratio was decreased after ABT therapy (0.67 ± 0.16 at 24 weeks, P = 0.0034) but was increased after TCZ therapy (2.00 ± 1.03 at 24 weeks, P = 0.0013). In addition, the Ror-γt/GATA3 ratio was decreased after TCZ therapy (0.78 ± 0.37 at 24 weeks, P = 0.0008). Except for these ratios, no significant skewing in the expression of these factors was detected. No significant relationship between clinical response to the treatment and change in the ratios of these factors was determined. CONCLUSION: Treatment with TCZ or ABT differently affected the balance between Foxp3 and Ror-γt expression in the peripheral blood of patients with RA.

Effectiveness of Certolizumab Pegol in Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients with Persistent Inflamed Residual Mono- or Oligosynovitis Resistant to Prior TNF-α Inhibitors.

We report four cases of successful treatment with certolizumab pegol (CZP) of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with persistent inflamed residual mono- or oligosynovitis resistant to prior TNF-α inhibitors. Although the patients were in a moderate disease activity, a low activity, or a remission of RA, they sustained inflammatory mono-/oligoarthritis even after treatment with prior TNF inhibitors. They were then all treated with CZP and observed in a serial ultrasonography. In all cases, the positive power Doppler signals in the joint have disappeared promptly and all of the patients were able to retain remission in the long term. The treatment of CZP to the refractory mono-/oligoarthritis of inflammatory synovitis in RA patients has not been previously described. The cases suggest that it may be associated with the feature of CZP, possible effective penetration into the site of inflammation.

Glucocorticoid-induced normotensive scleroderma renal crisis: a report on two cases and a review of the literature in Japan.

We herein report the findings of 2 cases of normotensive scleroderma renal crisis (SRC) that developed soon after the commencement of a glucocorticoid therapy. We also review 8 cases of normotensive SRC reported in Japan, including our cases. The common characteristics of these 8 cases are as follows: the recent onset of systemic sclerosis, the presence of diffuse skin sclerosis, the presence of myositis and/or serositis, a high titer of antinuclear antibody and positivity for anti-Scl-70 antibody. In 7 of the 8 patients, thrombotic microangiopathy developed within one month of starting the glucocorticoid treatment. We should be careful with the use of glucocorticoids in systemic sclerosis patients exhibiting these features in order to avoid cases of normotensive SRC.