What does this research mean for the field?

Citrullinated-specific CD4+ T cells are expanded in rheumatoid arthritis, target multiple antigens, and exhibit dynamic phenotypic changes that correlate with disease activity and response to therapy. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate the specificity, abundance, and phenotype of CD4+ T cells targeting citrullinated antigens in rheumatoid arthritis and assess their relationship to disease activity and therapy response.

September 8, 2026JCI InsightOpen Access

Specificity, frequency, and phenotype of citrullinated-specific T cells vary with disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis

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Authors

CRCliff RimsCenter for Translational Molecular Medicine HDHannah A. DeBergVirginia Mason Medical Center SPSylvia E. PossoBenaroya Research Institute

Discussion

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Implication

Cohort study reveals altered citrullinated-specific CD4+ T cell frequencies in rheumatoid arthritis, indicating their utility for tracking disease activity and treatment response.

Key Points

To evaluate the specificity, abundance, and phenotype of CD4+ T cells targeting citrullinated antigens in rheumatoid arthritis and assess their relationship to disease activity and therapy response.
Evaluated peripheral blood samples from cross-sectional and longitudinal cohorts of patients with rheumatoid arthritis alongside healthy controls.
Used HLA class II tetramers paired with computational phenotypic clustering to simultaneously identify T cells targeting five citrullinated antigens: aggrecan, vimentin, fibrinogen, cartilage intermediate layer protein, and α-enolase.
CD4+ T cells recognizing citrullinated aggrecan, vimentin, and fibrinogen were more abundant in active rheumatoid arthritis than in healthy controls, exhibiting Th1-like and stem-like phenotypes.
In longitudinal analysis, baseline levels of these antigen-specific cells were elevated in therapy responders, with Th1-like subsets decreasing over time during successful treatment but increasing in non-responders.

Cite This Study

Rims et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9fd7b758e84d0ff5b46a71 https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.202159

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Implication

Cohort study reveals altered citrullinated-specific CD4+ T cell frequencies in rheumatoid arthritis, indicating their utility for tracking disease activity and treatment response.

Specificity, frequency, and phenotype of citrullinated-specific T cells vary with disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis

Discussion

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Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Specificity, frequency, and phenotype of citrullinated-specific T cells vary with disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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