Rheumatoid Arthritis: From Molecular Basis to Therapies
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2025 | Viewed by 1356
Special Issue Editor
Interests: regulation of the humoral immune response; the “crosstalk” between receptors expressed on B lymphocytes; B cell signaling; autoimmunity; rheumatoid arthritis; cooperation between regulatory B cells and T cell subsets
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disorder characterized by persistent inflammation of synovial joints, resulting in progressive joint destruction and bone resorption and thus leading to disability.
Despite significant advances in rheumatoid research over the past decade, we still do not fully understand the cause of the disease, and we lack knowledge about how to cure or prevent RA.
At the molecular level, the pathogenesis of RA is driven by a dysregulated immune response leading to the abnormal activation of B and T cells and the production of autoantibodies and proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF and IL-6.
TNF inhibitors and IL-6 receptor antagonists have significantly improved clinical outcomes by specifically targeting key inflammatory pathways. More recently, the development of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors has offered an oral alternative with broad immunomodulatory effects. Despite these advancements, challenges remain in achieving sustained remission and managing treatment-related adverse effects.
Emerging molecular targets in the treatment of RA include CD40 and the CD40 ligand, programmed death protein 1 (PD-1), and granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Multiple signal transduction pathways are involved in the disease progression of rheumatoid arthritis, and abnormal signals are often targets for drug discovery. Thus, improved knowledge of intracellular signaling pathways and immunometabolic changes in RA will complement current precision medicine strategies, especially for patients with difficult-to-treat RA, and more specifically, those with multidrug resistance disease.
This Special Issue, “Rheumatoid Arthritis: From Molecular Basis to Therapies”, seeks to collate a selection of original and review articles on identifying novel molecular targets in the treatment of RA.
Prof. Dr. Gabriella Sármay
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- rheumatoid arthritis
- autoimmune
- intracellular signaling pathways
- targeted therapy
- inflammation
- immunometabolic reprogramming
- CD40
- CD40 ligand
- GM-CSF
- PD-1
- inhibitors
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
