title: Is TWEAK a Biomarker for Autoimmune/Chronic Inflammatory Diseases?
abstract: The TWEAK/Fn14 pathway is now well-known for its involvement in the modulation of inflammation in various human autoimmune/chronic inflammatory diseases (AICID) including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. A panel of data is now available concerning TWEAK expression in tissues or biological fluids of patients suffering from AICID, suggesting that it could be a promising biological marker in these diseases. Evidences from several teams support the hypothesis that blocking TWEAK/Fn14 pathway is an attractive new therapeutic lead in such diseases and clinical trials with anti-TWEAK-blocking antibodies are in progress. In this mini-review we discuss the potential use of TWEAK quantification in AICD management in routine practice and highlight the challenge of standardizing data collection to better estimate the clinical utility of such a biological parameter.
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, NICN, CNRS, UMR7259 , Marseille , France ; Service d'Immunologie, Pôle de Biologie, Hôpital de la Conception, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille , Marseille , France.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bertin
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, NICN, CNRS, UMR7259 , Marseille , France.
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stephan
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, NICN, CNRS, UMR7259 , Marseille , France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khrestchatisky
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, NICN, CNRS, UMR7259 , Marseille , France ; Service d'Immunologie, Pôle de Biologie, Hôpital de la Conception, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille , Marseille , France.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Desplat-Jégo
keywords: TWEAK; auto-immunity; biomarker; disease monitoring; serum levels; urinary levels