Early Diagnosis of Autoimmune and Inflammatory Disorders

摘要

The disclosure relates to methods and assay that assists in the diagnosis of autoimmune and chronic inflammatory disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis by analyzing drug-responsiveness of an interferon signal in a hematological sample (e.g., blood) obtained from a human subject. The assay involves comparing the interferon signal in a control aliquot of the sample with the same interferon sample in an aliquot that has been exposed to a therapeutic modality (e.g., combined with a drug) that is known to be efficacious to treat the disorder. A significant difference between the interferon signals of the control and treated aliquots that corresponds to a characteristic interferon signature for the disorder indicates that the subject is afflicted with, or is likely to develop, the disorder.

主权项

1. A method for assessing the likelihood that a human subject who does not exhibit a clinically substantial symptom of an autoimmune or chronic inflammatory disease (ACID) will develop the ACID, the method comprising
assessing an interferon signal that is characteristic of the ACID in both
i) a control aliquot andii) a treated aliquot of a hematologic sample obtained from the subject, wherein the treated aliquot is an aliquot of the sample that has been combined with a drug that is effective to treat the ACID and the control aliquot is an aliquot of the same sample that has been treated substantially identically to the treated aliquot, except that it has not been combined with the drug; and comparing the interferon signals of the control and treated aliquots, whereby suppression of an interferon signal characteristic of the ACID in the treated aliquot indicates that the subject is afflicted with or will develop the ACID, and greater suppression of the interferon signal characteristic of the ACID in the treated aliquot indicates a greater likelihood that the subject is afflicted with or will develop the ACID.