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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common chronic, systemic autoimmune disease characterized by erosive arthritis, with a global prevalence of 0.25% to 1.00%, which may ultimately lead to joint deformity and loss of function. Antinuclear antibody (ANA) refers to auto-antibodies that target various components of eukaryotic cells. Although ANA may be frequently detected in RA patients, with a positive rate of 30% to 60%, the significance of ANA in the diagnosis and treatment of RA remains unclear. Nuclear patterns in RA population are dominated by speckled and homogeneous patterns, mainly at low titres. The detection rate of extractable nuclear antibodies is usually lower than that of ANA. The serum levels of rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody in ANA-positive RA patients are much higher than ANA-negative ones, and joint erosion of ANA-positive RA patients had more severe joint erosion on imaging as well. Therefore, ANA is a potential predictor of severe joint injury. ANA-positive RA patients are more likely to have extra-articular manifestations [such as subcutaneous nodules(82% vs 46%), ocular lesions(38% vs 6%), and infections(38% vs 12%)].In terms of RA comorbidities, compared to the ANA negative group, the ANA positive group had higher levels of moderate and severe anemia (16.04% vs 6.9%; 6.6% vs 0.07%), Sjogren's syndrome (19.5% vs 4.1%), and vasculitis (29% vs 7%). In addition, ANA positivity is an independent risk factor for elderly RA patients with carotid intimal thickening (HR=4.089) and adverse pregnancy outcomes in female RA (OR=3.268, P=0.045), respectively. Attention should be paid to high-titre ANA-positive RA patients for preventive measures. In terms of treatment, RA patients who are ANA-positive when given tumour necrosis factor-α inhibitor (TNFi) treatment got much poorer therapeutic response than ANA-negative ones, especially those with high titres were more prone to generating anti-drug antibodies. Increase of ANA titer induced by TNFi is associated with no response to TNFi treatment, thus monitoring the change of ANA may predict the long-term efficacy of TNFi. The most common adverse event of TNFi is drug-induced lupus. Although it has been confirmed that the induction of anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies is associated with poor efficacy of TNFi, large-scale studies are still needed to confirm the correlation between the increase of ANA titer or ocurence of dsDNA antibody and the induction of drug-induced lupus. In conclusion, this paper reviews the research progress on ANA characteristics in RA population, clinical manifestations of ANA-positive RA, and the association between ANA and TNFi prognosis. The potential of ANA as a new biomarker of RA needs to be further studied.

Objective: Interferon (IFN)‐1 signatures are a hallmark of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). However, its significance in clinical stratification and contribution to deterioration still need to be better understood. Methods: For hypothesis generation, we performed single‐cell RNA sequencing (scRNA‐seq) on skin biopsies (four patients with SSc and two controls) using the BD Rhapsody platform. Two publicly available data sets of skin scRNA‐seq were used for validation (GSE138669: 12 patients with diffuse cutaneous SSc [dcSSc] and 10 controls; GSE195452: 52 patients with dcSSc and 41 patients with limited cutaneous SSc [lcSSc] and 54 controls). The IFN‐1 signature was mapped, functionally investigated in a bleomycin plus IFNα‐2 adenovirus‐associated virus (AAV)–induced model and verified in an SSc cohort (n = 61). Results: The discovery and validation data sets showed similar findings. Endothelial cells (ECs) had the most prominent IFN‐1 signature among dermal nonimmune cells. The EC IFN‐1 signature was increased both in patients with SSc versus controls and in patients with dcSSc versus those with lcSSc. Among EC subclusters, the IFN‐1 signature was statistically higher in the capillary ECs of patients with dcSSc, which was higher than those in patients with lcSSc, which in turn was higher than those in healthy controls (HCs). Endothelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) scores increased in parallel. Deteriorated bleomycin‐induced dermal fibrosis, EndoMT, and perivascular fibrosis and caused blood vessel loss with EC apoptosis. Vascular myxovirus resistance (MX) 1, an IFN‐1 response protein, was significantly increased both in total SSc versus HC skin and in dcSSc versus lcSSc skin. Baseline vascular MX1 performed similarly to skin score in predicting disease progression over 6 to 34 months in total SSc and was superior in the dcSSc subpopulation. Conclusion: The EC IFN‐1 signature distinguished SSc skin subtypes and disease progression and may contribute to vasculopathy and fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CD73 plays a critical role in the pathogenesis and immune escape in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). AB680, an exceptionally potent and selective inhibitor of CD73, is administered in an early clinical trial, in conjunction with gemcitabine and anti‐PD‐1 therapy, for the treatment of PDAC. Nevertheless, the specific therapeutic efficacy and immunoregulation within the microenvironment of AB680 monotherapy in PDAC have yet to be fully elucidated. In this study, AB680 exhibits a significant effect in augmenting the infiltration of responsive CD8+ T cells and prolongs the survival in both subcutaneous and orthotopic murine PDAC models. In parallel, it also facilitates chemotaxis of myeloid‐derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) by tumor‐derived CXCL5 in an AMP‐dependent manner, which may potentially contribute to enhanced immunosuppression. The concurrent administration of AB680 and PD‐1 blockade, rather than gemcitabine, synergistically restrain tumor growth. Notably, gemcitabine weakened the efficacy of AB680, which is dependent on CD8+ T cells. Finally, the supplementation of a CXCR2 inhibitor is validated to further enhance the therapeutic efficacy when combined with AB680 plus PD‐1 inhibitor. These findings systematically demonstrate the efficacy and immunoregulatory mechanism of AB680, providing a novel, efficient, and promising immunotherapeutic combination strategy for PDAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]