Systemic sclerosis & Raynaud's
Association of Type III and Type VI Collagen Neoepitopes With Disease Severity in Systemic Sclerosis
Authors' conclusion
PRO-C3 and PRO-C6 correlated with skin disease severity, whereas C3M and C6M correlated with lung disease severity. Collagen turnover biomarkers correlated with CRP, IL-6, and IFN-inducible proteins, providing support for the link between inflammation and fibrosis in SSc.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with early systemic sclerosis (SSc) in the Collaborative National Quality and Efficacy Registry (CONQUER) cohort
- Participants
- 222 patients
- Outcome
- Collagen turnover biomarkers vs disease severity
- Follow-up
- Baseline
Methodological detailsbiomarker analysis, baseline and 6-month serum samples
- Biomarker analysis
- Baseline and 6-month serum samples
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- PRO-C3 concentrations higher in diffuse disease
- P < 0.001
- PRO-C6 concentrations higher in diffuse disease
- P < 0.001
- C6M higher in ILD
- P = 0.04
- Baseline PRO-C3 positively correlated with mRSS
- P < 0.001
- Baseline PRO-C6 positively correlated with mRSS
- P < 0.001
- C3M negatively correlated with FVC%
- P = 0.03
- C6M negatively correlated with FVC%
- P = 0.01
- Magnitude of correlations in the weak range
- rs < 0.4
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Changes in biomarkers vs changes in C-reactive protein (CRP) and interferon (IFN) score · 6 months
- Changes in CRP positively correlated with changes in collagen degradation proteins (C3M and C6M), not with changes in formation proteins (PRO-C3 and PRO-C6)
- Changes in IFN score showed the highest correlation with changes in PRO-C6
Original publication
Association of Type III and Type VI Collagen Neoepitopes With Disease Severity in Systemic Sclerosis. J Rheumatol. Published 15 November 2025. doi:10.
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