[Early diagnosis of spondyloarthritis]. / Casná diagnostika spondyloartritid.

Spondyloarthritides are chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases which affect the axial skeleton and/or peripheral joints and have a strong association with HLA-B27 antigen. According to the prevailing symptoms spondyloarthritis can be further divided into predominantly axial or peripheral form.This disease can gradually destroy affected joints with increasing delay between the onset of first symptoms and treatment commencement, therefore early diagnosis and treatment are necessary. Thus, we need to create simple reference strategies to enable primary care physicians effectively identify and refer these patients to a rheumatologist. Based on published data the most appropriate strategy for axial spondyloarthritis seems to be The Berlin algorithm. We do not have any clear recommendations for early referral for peripheral spondyloarthritis to date. However, patients in an increased risk of psoriatic arthritis can be detected by using the valid questionnaire for patients with psoriasis.

Association between circulating miRNAs and spinal involvement in patients with axial spondyloarthritis.

OBJECTIVES: Dysregulation of miRNAs and their target genes contributes to the pathophysiology of autoimmune diseases. Circulating miRNAs may serve as diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers. We aimed to investigate the association between circulating miRNAs, disease activity and spinal involvement in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA). METHODS: Total RNA was isolated from the plasma of patients with non-radiographic (nr)AxSpA, patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and healthy controls (HC) via phenol-chloroform extraction. A total of 760 miRNAs were analysed with TaqMan® Low Density Arrays, and the expression of 21 miRNAs was assessed using single assays. RESULTS: Comprehensive analysis demonstrated the differential expression of miRNAs among patients with progressive spinal disease. Of the 21 miRNAs selected according to their expression patterns, the levels of miR-625-3p were significantly different between nr-AxSpA patients and HCs. We found no correlation between miRNA levels and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) in nr-AxSpA patients. Selected miRNAs, such as miR-29a-3p, miR-146a-5p or miR-222-3p with an established role in extracellular matrix formation and inflammation were associated with spinal changes and/or disease activity assessed by BASDAI in AS patients, including miR-625-3p reflecting disease activity in AS with spinal involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that circulating miRNAs play a role in the pathogenesis of AxSpA and are also suggestive of their potential as biomarkers of disease progression. We hypothesize that differential systemic levels of miRNA expression reflect miRNA dysregulation at sites of spinal inflammation or bone formation where these molecules contribute to the development of pathophysiological features typical of AxSpA.

An update on biomarkers in axial spondyloarthritis.

Axial spondyloarthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease with the onset at a young age, and, if undiagnosed and untreated, it may result in permanent damage and lifelong disability. Rates of early diagnosis have improved, due in particular to the addition of magnetic resonance imaging into the diagnostic armamentaria; however, it is costly, not widely available, and requires experienced readers to interpret the findings. In addition to clinical measures and imaging techniques, biomarkers that will be described in this review may represent useful tools for diagnosis, monitoring disease activity and outcomes as well as therapeutic responses. Currently, HLA-B27 remains the best genetic biomarker for making a diagnosis, while CRP currently appears to be the best circulating measure for assessing disease activity, predicting structural progression and therapeutic response. Interestingly, key molecules in the pathogenesis of the disease and essential therapeutic targets, such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF)α, interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-23, show only limited association with disease characteristics or disease progression. Some genetic biomarkers and particularly anti-CD74 antibodies, may become a promising tool for the early diagnosis of axSpA. Further biomarkers, such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-3, calprotectin (S100A8/9), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), C-terminal telopeptide of type II collagen (CTX-II) or dickkopf-1 (DKK-1), are not sufficient to reflect disease activity, but may predict spinal structural progression. In addition, recent data have shown that monitoring calprotectin might represent a valuable biomarker of therapeutic response. However, all of these results need to be confirmed in large cohort studies prior to use in daily clinical practice.