Mining the Proteome Associated with Rheumatic and Autoimmune Diseases

A steady
increase in the incidence of osteoarthritis and other
rheumatic diseases has been observed in recent decades, including
autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthropathies,
systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, and Sjögren’s
syndrome. Rheumatic and autoimmune diseases (RADs) are characterized
by the inflammation of joints, muscles, or other connective tissues.
In addition to often experiencing debilitating mobility and pain,
RAD patients are also at a higher risk of suffering comorbidities
such as cardiovascular or infectious events. Given the socioeconomic
impact of RADs, broad research efforts have been dedicated to these
diseases worldwide. In the present work, we applied literature mining
platforms to identify “popular” proteins closely related
to RADs. The platform is based on publicly available literature. The
results not only will enable the systematic prioritization of candidates
to perform targeted proteomics studies but also may lead to a greater
insight into the key pathogenic processes of these disorders.