Egyptian Stanford Researcher Uncovers Causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Egyptian researcher Dr Shady Younis, a lecturer in the Immunology Department at Stanford University in the United States, has revealed the details of his team's research in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The Stanford University study - carried out in collaboration with researchers from Janssen Research and Development LLC, Benaroya Research Institute, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Weill Cornell Medicine - potentially explains the causes behind the autoimmune disease for the first time.

While the mechanisms that precede inflammation and joint destruction in RA are poorly understood, increased levels of CD8+ T cells have often been observed in patients. The study examined these cells, using cutting-edge techniques to sequence blood samples from 12 RA patients, with healthy samples randomly obtained through the Stanford Blood Samples.

Their findings “suggest that cytotoxic CD8+ T cells target citrullinated antigens and could mediate joint tissue destruction in RA,” according to the study, which was published in Nature Communications. The research is hoped to support the development of new treatments targeting cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in order to provide relief to patients with RA, which affects 1% of the global population.