Rheumatoid arthritis and B cell depletion therapy

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease with joint involvement and extra-articular features. B cell depletion therapy based on Rituximab in rheumatoid arthritis was first used at University College London in 1998, describing two patterns of disease relapse after a good response to Rituximab: either occurring coincident with B-cell return (concordant relapse) or 'delayed' occurring months after B-cell return (discordant relapse). B-cell activating factor (BAFF) and its receptors (BARR-receptor, TACI and BCMA) play an esential role in B-cell maturation, homeostasis and survival. The current thesis hypothesises that the two different patterns of relapse after B cell repopulation following Rituximab could be explained by differences in the expression of BAFF and its binding receptors.

Autorentext

Dr. Elena Becerra Fernández arbeitet derzeit als Rheumatologin und klinische Forscherin in einem örtlichen Krankenhaus in Spanien. Zuvor war sie als Forschungsstipendiatin am Universität College London, Großbritannien, tätig, wo sie an mehreren Studien zu rheumatoider Arthritis und B-Zell-Depletions-Therapie mitwirkte und ihr Dissertationsprojekt sowie verschiedene wissenschaftliche Artikel entwickelte.