€2.7m for PREDICT-CTD: Better diagnostics for rare CTD

PREDICT-CTD (PREcision DIagnostics to CombaT Connective Tissue Diseases) is funded with €2.7 million by the zukunft.niedersachsen programme. The consortium brings together TWINCORE – Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH). Led by Dr Theresa Graalmann and Prof. Yannic Bartsch, the team aims to develop a new diagnostic procedure for rare rheumatic diseases such as systemic sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Autoimmune diseases including systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren's syndrome trigger inflammatory reactions in connective tissue. These conditions are grouped as connective tissue diseases (CTD) and are considered rare rheumatic diseases.

“Although the symptoms of the various connective tissue diseases can vary greatly, patients can generally be divided into two groups based on their immune responses,” says Theresa Graalmann, head of the Clinical Junior Research Group Translational Immunology at TWINCORE. “Either the body's own antibodies cause the inflammatory response, or it is caused by the overactivity of certain messenger substances in the immune system.”

Because the optimal therapy depends on the underlying mechanism, clinicians need diagnostic tools that can reliably separate these patient groups. According to the project partners, such tools are currently not available.

PREDICT-CTD combines multi-omics technologies, including genetic diagnostics and immunological phenotyping, to study the biological drivers of collagenosis in more detail. The aim is to translate these findings into more precise diagnostic procedures.

“The insights gained will help us develop more precise diagnostic procedures,” says Yannic Bartsch, head of the Helmholtz Young Investigator Group Antiviral Antibody-Omics. The consortium expects that more accurate differentiation of disease mechanisms could help clinicians select treatment strategies more effectively and improve care pathways for people affected by rare autoimmune diseases.

“We are very pleased about the funding commitment from the MWK Lower Saxony and the Volkswagen Foundation,” says Ulrich Kalinke, Director of the Institute for Experimental Infection Research. “Research projects like this are only possible because we maintain such close ties with the Hannover Medical School. This collaboration is at the heart of our translational research at the interface between science and medicine.”

MEDICA-tradefair.com; Source: TWINCORE