Sjögren's disease & overlap diseases
Transcriptome analysis unveils Th1 cell cycle signature as a distinctive feature of mixed connective tissue disease
Authors' conclusion
Transcriptome analysis of peripheral blood immune cells revealed that MCTD Th1 cells share many transcriptional features with those in SLE, yet display distinctive cell cycle signature.
Study context
- Population
- Peripheral blood immune cells from patients with mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), SLE, systemic sclerosis (SSc), IIM and healthy controls (HC)27 immune cell subsets
- Participants
- 283 participants
- Exposure
- MCTD vs SLE, SSc, IIM and HC
- MCTDn = 19
- SLEn = 58
- SScn = 63
- IIMn = 64
- HCn = 79reference
- Outcome
- Gene expression profiles of peripheral blood immune cells in MCTD vs related diseases, and association with clinical parameters
Methodological detailstranscriptome analysis, 27 immune cell subsets, differential gene expression and enrichment analyses, gene modular and machine learning analyses
- Transcriptome analysis
- 27 immune cell subsets
- Differential gene expression and enrichment analyses
- Gene modular and machine learning analyses
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Gene expression in Th1 cells
- MCTD had more differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in Th1 cells than related diseases and HC
- DEGs between MCTD and SLE limited; MCTD Th1 cells shared common DEGs with each disease
- Upregulation of cell cycle pathways in MCTD Th1 cells
- Signature upregulated in high disease activity and in anti-U1-RNP positive patients in related diseases; associated with severity of RP
- Th1 cell cycle signature correlated with interferon signature in other immune cells
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Transcriptome analysis unveils Th1 cell cycle signature as a distinctive feature of mixed connective tissue disease. Arthritis Res Ther. Published 4 December 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →