A new tool for detection of type I interferon activation in systemic lupus erythematosus
Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Research, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 East 70th Street, New York, NY 10021, USA
Arthritis Research & Therapy 2010, 12:138 doi:10.1186/ar3114
See related research by Li et al., http://arthritis-research.com/content/12/3/R90
Published: 26 August 2010Abstract
The IFN-I pathway is activated in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and appears to be important in the pathogenesis of the disease. As a result, several clinical trials of anti-IFN monoclonal antibodies, which hold promise to control the disease, have been launched. Additionally, activation of IFN-I might be important in the prognosis and activity assessment of the disease. Therefore, new biomarkers that reflect activity of the IFN-I pathway and are simple to measure, such as the monocyte CD64 receptor, are expected to have a great impact on the management of SLE, if properly validated.
