Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the lining of its own joints, causing chronic pain, swelling, and stiffness. While there have been remarkable advancements in the treatment of RA with an array of therapies that target inflammation, a large subset of patients (approximately 6–28%) continue to experience difficult-to-manage symptoms of disease even after receiving multiple lines of treatment.

There is a critical need to identify new therapeutic approaches for patients who are refractory to existing treatment options.

By looking closely at the biology of joint tissue, researchers at the Mass General Brigham Department of Medicine conducted a study, published in Nature Immunology, focusing on discovering why some people with rheumatoid arthritis don’t respond well to standard treatments. The paper is titled “Spatial patterning of fibroblast TGFβ signaling underlies treatment resistance in rheumatoid arthritis.”