Whole-blood transcriptomic profiling highlights rituximab response in rheumatoid arthritis. Homo sapiens

Objective: We performed whole-blood transcriptomic profiling for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who received rituximab (RTX). We aimed to identify a molecular signature that could predict the clinical response to RTX and transcriptomic changes after RTX therapy. Overall design: Methods: We performed a microarray assay of the whole human genome with RNA from a peripheral blood sample taken before the first RTX cycle from 68 patients included in the SMART study (24 EULAR non-responders and 44 responders at week 24). The transcriptomic profile was also assessed 24 weeks after the first RTX administration