Mechanism of TNF Inhibition in Rheumatoid Arthritis (METIRA)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Determination of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect derived from TNF blockade
IRAS ID
219922
Contact name
Leonie Taams
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 6 months, 16 days
Research summary
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease, which affects almost 700,000 people in the UK. Multiple components of the immune system, in particular CD4+ T-cells, which are specialised immune cells, make many inflammatory chemicals and as such contribute to joint inflammation, leading to disease. Among the inflammatory chemicals leading to inflammation in the joint, TNF is one of the main contributors and indeed TNF inhibitory drugs are commonly used in treatment of RA. TNF inhibition therapy has revolutionised the treatment of RA; however, there are limitations since TNF inhibition therapy is expensive (>£10,000 per patient per year), not all patients respond to these drugs and it is still impossible to predict who these patients will be; additionally, it remains unclear exactly how these drugs work inside the human body. Our preliminary data showed, that following TNF inhibition therapy, CD4+ T-cells start to produce the anti-inflammatory chemical IL-10, which acts as a natural “brake” on the immune system thus counteracting inflammation. Our aim is to determine in detail how TNF inhibition therapy promotes this process. This could reveal new therapeutic targets, and may help explain why patients do or do not respond to TNF inhibition therapy, leading to the characterisation of predictive markers of responsiveness to treatment.
REC name
North East - Tyne & Wear South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/NE/0189
Date of REC Opinion
1 Jun 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion