Friday, August 8, 2025
Science
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News Medicine

New study shows certain combinations of antiviral proteins are responsible for lupus symptoms and affect treatment outcomes

May 13, 2024
in Medicine
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
66
SHARES
598
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

In a new study, researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have uncovered insights as to why lupus symptoms and severity present differently in individuals with the autoimmune condition, which affects up to 1.5 million Americans. The team says this is a crucial step forward in understanding biological mechanisms behind lupus, and may also lead to shifts in how clinicians treat patients with the condition.

In a new study, researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have uncovered insights as to why lupus symptoms and severity present differently in individuals with the autoimmune condition, which affects up to 1.5 million Americans. The team says this is a crucial step forward in understanding biological mechanisms behind lupus, and may also lead to shifts in how clinicians treat patients with the condition.

The full report, published in Cell Reports Medicine on May 13, concludes that specific combinations and elevated levels of immune system proteins, known as interferons, are associated with certain lupus symptoms such as skin rashes, kidney inflammation and joint pain. Interferons normally help to fight infection or disease, but are overactive in lupus, causing widespread inflammation and damage. The study also shows that other common lupus-related symptoms cannot be explained by increased interferon levels.

“For years, we have accumulated knowledge that interferons play a role in lupus,” says corresponding author and rheumatologist Felipe Andrade, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He says this research began with questions about why certain lupus treatments were ineffective for some patients. “We have seen instances where the patient surprisingly didn’t improve — we wondered if certain interferon groups were involved.”

Some lupus treatments are designed to suppress a specific group of interferons, known as interferon I. In clinical trials for these treatments, the team observed some patients failing to improve, despite genetic tests showing high interferon I levels before treatment, or what experts call a high interferon signature. The team believed that two other interferon groups, interferon II and interferon III, may be to blame for these poor treatment responses.

To investigate, the team looked at how different combinations of interferon I, II or III, and their overactivity, may present in people with lupus. Researchers took 341 samples from 191 participants to determine the activity of the three interferon groups, and used human cell lines engineered to react to the presence of each specific interferon group to analyze the samples. Through this process, researchers determined that the majority of participants fell into four categories: those only with increased interferon I; those with a combination of increased interferons I, II and III; those with a combination of increased interferons II and III; or those with normal interferon levels.

Researchers were able to use these findings to also make several associations between these interferon combinations and lupus symptoms. In those with elevated interferon I, lupus was mainly associated with symptoms affecting the skin, such as rashes or sores. Participants with elevated levels of interferon I, II and III exhibited the most severe presentations of lupus, often with significant damage to organ systems, such as the kidneys.

Not every symptom found in lupus was associated with elevated interferons, though. The formation of blood clots and low platelet counts, which also affect clotting, did not have an association with increased levels of interferon groups I, II or III. Researchers say this indicates that both interferon-dependent and other biological mechanisms are involved in this complex disease. The study also found that genetic testing of genes associated with these interferon groups, or the interferon signature, did not always indicate elevated interferon levels. They plan to investigate this in future studies.

“What we’ve seen in our study is that these interferon groups are not isolated; they work as a team in lupus and can give patients different presentations of the disease,” says rheumatologist Eduardo Gómez-Bañuelos, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the study’s first and additional corresponding author. Evaluating a patient’s elevated interferon combinations allows for a better understanding of how they may react to treatments, and would allow clinicians to group them into clinical subtypes of lupus, Gómez-Bañuelos explains.

Additional contributors to this work include Daniel Goldman, Victoria Andrade, Erika Darrah and Michelle Petri, affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Darrah is now also affiliated with AstraZeneca.

Funding for this project includes National Institutes of Health grant numbers R21 AI147598, R21 AI169851, R21 AI176766 and R01 AR069572, as well as from the Jerome L. Greene Foundation.



Journal

Cell Reports Medicine

Share26Tweet17
Previous Post

The search for habitable planets beyond Earth remains a complex and ongoing endeavor, requiring a deep understanding of planetary evolution and the intricate interplay of atmospheric and surface conditions

Next Post

An impact-based forecasting system for improved early flood warning

Related Posts

Medicine

Updated Soil Testing Post-Fire: New Hazard Guidelines

August 8, 2025
blank
Medicine

New Biomarkers Uncover Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Type 2 Diabetes

August 8, 2025
blank
Medicine

Gordian Biotechnology Named Tier 5 Sponsor for ARDD 2025

August 8, 2025
blank
Medicine

Special Journal Issue Highlights Disability in the Black Community and Urges Culturally Tailored Counseling Approaches

August 8, 2025
blank
Medicine

In-Depth Analysis of Clubfoot Causes and Treatment Advances

August 8, 2025
blank
Medicine

UC Study Reveals Connection Between Childhood Trauma and Tobacco Exposure

August 8, 2025
Next Post
An impact-based forecasting system for improved early flood warning

An impact-based forecasting system for improved early flood warning

  • Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    27531 shares
    Share 11009 Tweet 6881
  • University of Seville Breaks 120-Year-Old Mystery, Revises a Key Einstein Concept

    943 shares
    Share 377 Tweet 236
  • Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance

    641 shares
    Share 256 Tweet 160
  • Researchers record first-ever images and data of a shark experiencing a boat strike

    507 shares
    Share 203 Tweet 127
  • Warm seawater speeding up melting of ‘Doomsday Glacier,’ scientists warn

    310 shares
    Share 124 Tweet 78
Science

Embark on a thrilling journey of discovery with Scienmag.com—your ultimate source for cutting-edge breakthroughs. Immerse yourself in a world where curiosity knows no limits and tomorrow’s possibilities become today’s reality!

RECENT NEWS

  • Chinese Version Validated: São Paulo Sensory Scale
  • Phase II Trial: Single vs Hypofractionated Breast Radiotherapy
  • Financial Growth, Education, Industry Shape Ecological Footprints
  • What Controls Global Glacial Erosion Rates?

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Athmospheric
  • Biology
  • Bussines
  • Cancer
  • Chemistry
  • Climate
  • Earth Science
  • Marine
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Pediatry
  • Policy
  • Psychology & Psychiatry
  • Science Education
  • Social Science
  • Space
  • Technology and Engineering

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,858 other subscribers

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Discover more from Science

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading