An Increased Circular RNA, circRNPS1, in T Cells of Ankylosing Spondylitis Patients Enhances the MEK/ERK Signaling and Inflammation Mediated by T Cell Activation via Stabilization of hnRNPK and VAV1.
Yu HC · 2026 · International journal of molecular sciences
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What this paper found
T cells from people with ankylosing spondylitis carry raised levels of a circular RNA called circRNPS1, which stabilises two proteins that push the cells to make IL-17 and other inflammatory signals; blocking it in the lab calmed those cells down. It is one explanation for why HLA-B27 alone does not cause AS, and a possible new drug target that works inside the T cell rather than on the cytokines it releases.
Why this is on the map
A non-HLA genetic mechanism feeding the IL-17 axis; lab-stage, but it connects the genomics and cytokine threads.
On the map under these threads
DOI: 10.3390/ijms27177550 · opens in a new tab. The full paper is on the publisher’s site, not here.
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