News

Gums & Joints – a joint AutoCure venture

Gums & Joints, a newly funded FP7 EU collaborative project, with an aim to investigate
protein citrullination as a link between periodontal disease and rheumatoid
arthritis, recently had its kick-off meeting in Krakow, Poland. The new consortium,
where AutoCure scientists from Karolinska Institutet, Birmingham and The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology are represented, will focus on different aspects of the link between the two inflammatory conditions, using a multidisciplinary approach.

Experts within rheumatology, dental health, immunology, bacteriology and proteomics will combine their knowledge and resources to:

• Characterize susceptibility factors and immune responses in
RA and periodontitis, using large patient cohorts, to identify etiological
pathways in both diseases.
• Evaluate the role of the periodontal bacterium Porphyromonas
gingivalis, and specifically its citrullinating enzyme PPAD, in the
pathogenesis of RA and periodontitis.
• Analyse the structure and function of PPAD in detail, to design
specific inhibitors as a novel treatment strategy.