On April 19, Camilla Svensson gave a talk on the potential pathogenic role of autoantibodies in the induction of pain in rheumatoid arthritis. After her talk, there was a panel discussion featuring:
- Maripat Corr, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, US
- Jon Lampa, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Hans-Georg Schaible, University Hospital Jena, Germany
- Yvonne Lee, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, US (moderator)
Watch the webinar recording below. (Unpublished data from 45:15 to 46:40 of the video are not shown.)
Here is an abstract of Svensson’s talk:
Joint pain in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often precedes joint inflammation and may persist even after successful anti-inflammatory treatment. RA is a chronic autoimmune disease, and one type of neuroimmune interaction that has recently received some attention is the potential pathogenic role of autoantibodies in maladaptive pain states. We have addressed the possibility that anti-collagen type II (CII) antibodies and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs), present in patients with RA, may be directly responsible for the induction of pain, independent of inflammation. For example, we found that mice injected with either human ACPA IgG purified from RA patients, or murinized monoclonal ACPAs generated from synovial B cells from RA patients, developed long-lasting, pronounced evoked and spontaneous pain-like behavior in the absence of visible and histological signs of inflammation. Non-ACPA IgG from RA patients or control monoclonal IgG were without pro-nociceptive effects. We coupled this to an ACPA-mediated increase in osteoclast activity and subsequent release of pro-nociceptive CXCL1 (IL-8) release. This presentation will highlight roles of autoantibodies in the pathogenesis of persistent pain states and focus on mechanisms by which CII antibodies and ACPAs activate sensory neurons in particular. The identification of novel contributions of autoantibodies to persistent pain may aid in the development of new treatment strategies, not only for pain in RA, but also for pain in other conditions associated with autoantibody production.
“The Role of Autoantibodies in Rheumatoid Arthritis Joint Pain” is the 12th in a new series of PRF webinars supported by Genentech and MedImmune, with additional site support from other PRF sponsors. All webinars and other site content on PRF are editorially independent; all editorial decisions are made solely by the PRF editors. See previous PRF webinars here.
