Protein trigger for juvenile idiopathic arthritis identified

US scientists have successfully identified a protein that plays a potentially key role in triggering juvenile idiopathic arthritis.Scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York have identified a human protein called transthyretin (TTR) that causes an autoimmune reaction in the joints of youngsters with this form of the disease - a discovery that could pave the way for new treatment options.The role of the TTR protein Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is the most common form of childhood arthritis and is understood to be an autoimmune disease, caused by antibodies attacking certain proteins in a person's own tissue.Prior to this study - published in the journal JCI Insight - no proteins triggering an immune attack had been associated with this particular disease. However, the team were able to achieve a breakthrough after looking for abnormal accumulations of proteins in the joint fluid and blood of patients.A significant increase in TTR was found in 50 juvenile arthritis patients, but not in any of the 26 control children without the disease, with further analysis showing that some had unusually high levels of antibodies to the this protein.The potential for new treatments This discovery gives scientists a new target to aim for when developing innovative treatments for this form of arthritis.Indeed, it potentially means that patients could benefit from a drug that is already available called tafamidis, which is designed to target TTR and is approved in Eur...
Source: Arthritis Research UK - Category: Rheumatology Source Type: news