Research Advances of Gene Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory and autoimmune disease whose clinical manifestations predominate in the joints. The prevalence of RA is at the top of autoimmune desmosis. Without adequate treatment, it will cause pain, severe disability, and excess mortality. The conventional therapy for RA is slow-acting and with serious side-effects. The recent developed biological agents require repeated and expensive high dosages to achieve therapeutic concentrations. These high circulating levels of biologicals and its non-targeting specificity can result in serious side-effects. Gene therapy can ensure efficient long-lasting delivery of therapeutic proteins, it is a promising approach for RA treatment on the basis of molecules.