Suppressed diversity of survivin splicing in active rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction: Alternative splicing distinguishes normal and pathologic cells. High levels of oncoprotein survivin recognise patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Here, we assess clinical relevance of alternative splicing of survivin in leukocytes of peripheral blood (PBMC) and bone marrow (BM) in RA patients. Method: Transcription of survivin wild-type (survivin-WT), survivin-2B and survivin-Delta Ex3 was measured in 67 randomly selected RA patients and in 23 patients before and after B cell depletion with rituximab. Analysis was done in relation to disease activity, anti-rheumatic t... Mehr ...