Cytometry May Be a Breakthrough For Rheumatoid Arthritis

Also at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dr. Deepak Rao, MD, PhD has also been using cytometry to analyze aspects of rheumatoid arthritis, along with potential treatments. By utilizing mass cytometry and multidimensional flow cytometry, a newfound ability to identify key pathologic T cell populations in the synovial fluid of those who suffer from RA was born.

Pathologic functions of T cells are difficult to analyze, even for the most experienced researchers, but now cytometry is making what at one point seemed impossible, possible. Rao was able to identify a unique population of pathologic CDS+T cells, referred to as T peripheral helper cells, which has been able to expand the joints of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. Synovial tissues and blood from patients involved in the study were also analyzed via mass cytometry and multidimensional flow cytometry.

For more information, Rao's work can be found in the publication Nature.