Decoding T cell targets in rheumatoid arthritis for better treatments
Official title: Decoding synovial CD4+ T cell antigen specificities in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Funded at Boston Children's Hospital · NIH-11378310 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Aiming to identify what specific targets in the immune system trigger autoimmune T cells in rheumatoid arthritis, with the goal of guiding more precise therapies.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Boston Children's Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2023 |
| Project end | April 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $236,461 |
| NIH project number | 5R00AR081896-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11378310 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with rheumatoid arthritis, particularly those with synovial involvement and detectable autoantibody responses.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without RA or without the specific synovial T cell activity being studied may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project focuses on understanding which parts of the immune system’s CD4+ T cells recognize in the joints of people with rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers have developed a new cell-based screening method to map T cell receptor specificities on a genome-wide scale, using synovial samples from RA patients. The work includes analyzing how these T cell targets relate to autoantibody production and the broader disease process. Over five years, the team will identify antigen epitopes and how they are presented by HLA molecules, which could inform future personalized treatments. This research is conducted at Boston Children’s Hospital under the leadership of Dr. Ayano Kohlgruber.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could lead to more targeted therapies that interrupt harmful T cell responses in RA.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have shown that targeting pathogenic T cell responses can influence autoantibody production and disease activity in RA, but this approach is novel in mapping TCR specificities at genome scale.
Where this research is happening
-
Boston Children's Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kohlgruber, Ayano Christine — Boston Children's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Kohlgruber, Ayano Christine
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.