Understanding the role of macrophages in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis

The change in the numbers of sublining synovial macrophages is currently the only predictor of response to therapy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Our study is the first to demonstrate that macrophages exist as a heterogeneous population in the synovium. The central goal of this proposal is to identify transcriptional signatures in different macrophage populations that are indicative of response to therapy or are critical cell that contributes to the pathogenesis of RA.