MUST researchers mark new breakthrough in arthritis study

A team at the Macau University of Science and Technology has made a breakthrough in arthritis research, according to a statement issued yesterday by the local tertiary education institution.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a worldwide autoimmune disease which is related to the immune-dysfunction of the body, and its disease pathogenesis remains unknown. In recent years, the study of genes and their relations to rheumatoid arthritis have become a key focus of research in the international field.
The research team led by Chair Professor Liu Liang, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of the Macau University of Science and Technology has recently found that the gene expression level of desuccinylase sirtuin 5 (SIRT5) was significantly reduced in the blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared to healthy volunteers, suggesting the pathogenic role of SIRT5 in rheumatoid arthritis.
To verify this new discovery, the research team conducted a series of comprehensive animal experiments, and found that the tests confirmed a link.
According to MUST, this research breakthrough has opened up a new path for the development of novel target drugs for precision treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
The research was recently published in the journal of “Cellular & Molecular Immunology”. DB