Abstract

Synovial biomarkers are increasingly important in the development of novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To identify biomarkers correlating with changes in clinical disease activity, real-time quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) was used to evaluate changes in synovial gene expression after treatment with corticosteroids. Patients with active RA received either oral prednisolone (n = 10, 60 mg daily for the first week and 40 mg daily for the second week) or placebo (n = 11) for 14 days. Real-time Q-PCR was used to quantify gene expression of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)α, IL1β, IL8 and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 1 in synovial tissue samples obtained through an arthroscopic procedure before and after treatment. mRNA levels were reported as relative expression units compared with a cell-based standard. Statistical analysis was performed using an analysis of covariance model. Prednisolone markedly decreased IL8 and MMP1 expression compared with placebo, and the CIs excluded the likelihood of no effect. A trend towards reduction was seen in IL1β and TNFα mRNA expression in the prednisolone group, although CIs included the value for no effect. These data suggest that Q-PCR can be used to measure synovial mRNA expression of mediators implicated in the pathogenesis of RA in small proof-of-concept trials.