07 november 2022 – 07:45
Prevent rheumatism? According to researchers at the LUMC, this is by no means a daydream: they are now receiving a Synergy Grant of 10 million euros from the European Research Council to further investigate their strategy. It is the first time that a UMC in the Netherlands is leading such a project. The researchers are building on their discovery that patients with rheumatism have glycated antibodies in their blood in the years before they develop symptoms. “If the factories that make these antibodies are inhibited, we expect that rheumatism can be prevented,” says Professor of Rheumatology Tom Huizinga.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammation of the joints. It is an autoimmune disease, which means that the immune system, the immune cells and antibodies, turns against the body. “We have previously discovered that the antibodies that play a role in rheumatism are greater,” says Huizinga. “This is due to a sugar group that is stuck on the antibody. We also saw that people who produce these saccharified antibodies all later develop rheumatism.” A crucial feature of the development of rheumatism.
Derailed cells
Not only these antibodies, but also the factories that make these substances, the B cells, are influenced by this extra sugar group. “We see that after a sugar group binds, the B cells become extra active and derail a bit,” says Professor of Experimental Rheumatology René Toes. With this grant, the researchers want to find out how the sugar group binds to B cells, and thus how these cells get upset. “If we know that, we can block the binding of the sugar group to the B cell, and thus treat rheumatism in a targeted way, or even prevent it.”
It may sound simple, but it takes a lot of expertise. And not just about the disease itself and the immunology behind it, but also about the function and structure of sugar groups. That is why Professor of Proteomics and Glycomics, Manfred Wuhrer, is closely involved. Using advanced techniques that can identify molecules, he has discovered that the rheumatoid antibodies are larger. “The connection between the clinic, the laboratory and technology forms the basis of this project. It is the power behind our previous successes and it is unique that these expertise can be found under one roof,” says Wuhrer.
postpone rheumatism
LUMC researchers, who previously conducted a study with the support of ReumaNederland, wrote in The Lancet this year that rheumatism can be postponed if patients are treated before they develop rheumatism. “This gives us hope,” says Huizinga. “It provides evidence that we can catch rheumatism patients before they develop rheumatism, and that is exactly the group we want to treat,” says Huizinga. “So there is already a clinical infrastructure in place to test our strategy on patients.”
Folk Objects
About 270,000 people in the Netherlands suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. The first symptoms often start around the age of 50 and are very disabling. Due to the pain and stiffness in the joints, people are often unable to work. “We are getting better at treating rheumatism, for example with medication aimed at inflammatory hormones,” says Toes. “It works well, but it is expensive. If we can prevent rheumatism, we not only save a lot of suffering, but also a lot of money.”
The researchers continuously emphasize that this is by no means a daydream. “We’ve been working on this for about 20 years, and we really think it could work. It’s great that the ERC sees this too. We expect to come a long way with this large subsidy,” says Huizinga. “To ultimately create a targeted therapy for this common disease”, Toes concludes.
Rheumatoid Netherlands
Corné Baatenburg de Jong, deputy director of ReumaNederland: “It is great that our financing options have brought the research here and that an ERC could be applied for. On to the next phase. Early diagnosis and early treatment are one of our important themes. People with starting (rheumatic) complaints should receive a proper diagnosis and the right care as soon as possible. So that they know where they stand and unnecessary health damage can be prevented. Or even better: so that the disease does not develop and may even be prevented.”
ERC Synergy
The ERC Synergy Grants are for bold scientific challenges, and only groundbreaking research proposals are eligible. The project team, led from the LUMC, consists of four researchers, including Huizinga and Wuhrer, who will each receive 2.5 million euros. The Leiden researchers are working together with Salome Pinho from Portugal and Gordan Lauc from Croatia.
Source: LUMC
Editorial Medicalfacts/ Janine Budding
I studied physiotherapy and health care business administration. In addition, I am a registered Independent client supporter and informal care broker. I have a lot of experience in various positions in healthcare, the social domain and the medical, pharmaceutical industry, nationally and internationally. And have broad medical knowledge of most specialties in healthcare. And of the health care laws from which health care is regulated and financed. Every year I attend most of the leading medical conferences in Europe and America to keep my knowledge up-to-date and to keep up with the latest developments and innovations. I am currently doing a Masters in Applied Psychology.
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