Biomarkers and Immune Responses in Rheumatic Diseases: Current Concepts and Future Challenges

Dear Colleagues, 

The importance of innate and adaptive immune responses in the development and progression of rheumatic diseases is well established. Rheumatic diseases are chronic inflammatory immune-mediated disorders that may affect the joints, muscles, bones and have a systemic and/ or organ-specific involvement. These conditions can have a major impact on patients’ quality of life, society and economic burden. Therefore, establishing an early diagnosis and initiating adequate treatment are fundamental for an effective disease management.

Biomarkers can be used as diagnostic tools, help to predict disease development in subjects at risk and provide useful prognostic information for therapeutic decisions in clinical practice. Serological and inflammatory parameters such as autoantibody levels, cytokines, chemokines, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are examples of biomarkers clinically relevant not only for the diagnosis, but also as indicators of treatment effectiveness during patient follow-up commonly used in rheumatic diseases. Nevertheless, the lack of validated specific disease biomarkers for each rheumatic disorder is still a current challenge.

The identification of new biomarkers in rheumatic diseases could have the potential to contribute to patient stratification, prognosis and treatment selection.  

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect original research articles and/ or reviews that focus on the potential use of novel or existant biomarkers and immunopathogenesis of rheumatic diseases, which might provide new sustainable evidence for an accurate diagnosis and treatment management. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following disease topics:  

I.         Rheumatoid arthritis

II.        Diffuse connective tissue diseases

III.       Spondyloarthritis

IV.       Vasculitis

V.        Juvenile idiopathic arthritis

VI.       Osteoporosis

VII.      Osteoarthritis

We look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Dr. Rita Aguiar Moura
Prof. Dr. João Eurico Fonseca
Prof. Dr. Helena Canhao
Guest Editors

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• rheumatic diseases
• biomarkers
• immunopathogenesis
• diagnosis
• prognosis
• disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs)