Circulating cell-free DNA as a potential biomarker for prediction of disease activity and prognosis among Egyptian rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Abstract

Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has emerged as a potential biomarker for assessing disease activity and prognosis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the association between cfDNA levels and the established RA markers of inflammation and disease severity remains unclear. The current study aimed to detect plasma levels of cfDNA in patients with RA and to investigate their association with RA activity indicators (erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), disease activity score-28 (DAS28)), prognostic markers (rheumatoid factor (RF), anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA)), and the musculoskeletal ultrasonographic (US7) scores. This controlled cross-sectional study included 108 RA patients and 108 healthy controls. Plasma levels of cfDNA were quantified by real-time PCR using ALU repeats. Levels of ESR, CRP, RF, and ACPA were measured using routine laboratory assays. Synovial inflammation and joint damage evaluation was performed using the US7 scoring system. Plasma levels of cfDNA were higher in RA patients than controls (P < 0.001) and significantly increased with higher DAS28 scores among all RA activity groups. Also, cfDNA levels were significantly positively correlated with ESR, CRP, RF, and ACPA levels (P-values <0.001). Regarding US7, cfDNA was significantly positively correlated with synovitis and erosion scores (P-values <0.05) but did not correlate significantly with tenosynovitis scores (P-values >0.05). In addition, plasma cfDNA was significantly higher in seropositive RA patients than in seronegative patients (P = 0.007). The odds ratio for cfDNA as a risk factor for erosions was 2.254. This study revealed that cfDNA levels are elevated in RA patients and positively associated with disease activity indicators and prognosis markers. Further research is warranted to validate these findings in larger cohorts and explore the clinical implications of cfDNA measurement in RA management.