Closing the gap in early diagnosis of autoimmune rheumatic diseases: discovery of novel biomarkers using high-density peptide microarrays

Abstract

Introduction: Autoimmune rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are attributed to inflammation affecting the joints and connective tissues, with extra-articular manifestations in some disease types. Early diagnosis is the key to optimal therapeutic success in order to slow down disease progression or even prevent joint damage and hence irreversible disability. However, diagnosis in an early disease stage is often challenging. In RA, up to 30% of early stage patients are negative for the current serological diagnostic measures using antibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptide antigens (ACPA) or rheumatoid factor (RF). In PsA, both RF and ACPA are mainly absent. Moreover, the heterogeneous disease phenotypes associated with PsA often make an early diagnosis difficult, especially in patients without psoriatic skin lesions.