WCMTM University of Gothenburg’s Post

WCMTM Fellow Cristina Maglio shared insights about her lab’s ongoing project where rheumatoid arthritis is in focus – one of the most common rheumatic illnesses. As an auto-immune disease, rheumatoid arthritis is mainly characterized by swelling and pain in the joints. At a joint level, the cells involved in the development of the disease are the so-called fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS). In normal conditions, they support the overall health of the joint by producing substances that help repair and maintain the joint tissue. However, in rheumatoid arthritis, these cells become aggressive, supporting inflammation and contribute to bone destruction. “Once FLS become activated, they alter their metabolism to sustain their inflammatory activity. Our project aims to identify the metabolic mechanisms associated with FLS activation in rheumatoid arthritis which could be potential new targets for drug development”, Cristina said. Despite the significant advances in creating drugs to treat rheumatoid arthritis in the past 20 years, many patients with rheumatoid arthritis still experience treatment failure. “The study of the metabolic processes associated with rheumatoid arthritis may also help identifying metabolic predictors of response to treatment. It is crucial to start treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis early and effectively, to enhance patient outcomes." Cristina's group consist of both a wet lab and a dry lab which allows the study of the metabolic factors associated with rheumatoid arthritis both at a systemic and a joint level.

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