Tianjin Medical Journal ›› 2026, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (1): 84-87.doi: 10.11958/20251530

• Clinical Research • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Clinical significance of serum interferon regulatory factor 1 in rheumatoid arthritis

LI Rongqi1,2(), LI Yuxuan3, ZHANG Yan1,2, LI Xin2,4,(), WEI Wei2,4   

  1. 1 Departments of Rheumatology and Immunology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital Airport Hospital, Tianjin 300308, China
    2 Tianjin Clinical Research Center for Rheumatic and Immune Diseases
    3 Tianjin Medical University School of Public Health
    4 Departments of Rheumatology and Immunology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital
  • Received:2025-04-10 Revised:2025-09-29 Published:2026-01-15 Online:2026-01-19
  • Contact: E-mail:limbourg@163.com

Abstract:

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of serum interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF1) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Methods Thirty patients with RA and 30 healthy individuals (control group) were included in this study. The serum levels of IRF1 and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibody were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Assessment questionnaire (HAQ), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and disease activity score (DAS) 28-ESR were collected from the RA patients. Patients with RA received initial methotrexate (MTX) monotherapy (10-20 mg weekly) for 1-3 months. Disease activity was assessed using the DAS28-ESR at weeks 4 and 12, and the treatment regimen was adjusted if necessary. Short-term, low-dose corticosteroids or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs could be used concomitantly for rapid symptom relief. The serum levels of IRF1 and anti-CCP antibody were compared before and after treatment between the RA group and the control group. Spearman's correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between IRF1 and clinical and laboratory indicators of RA patients. The diagnostic value of IRF1 for RA was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results Serum IRF1 and anti-CCP antibody levels were significantly higher in the RA group compared with those of the control group. No significant correlation was found between serum IRF1 concentration and anti-CCP antibodies, ESR, CRP, DAS28-ESR, TJC, SJC, VAS, HAQ, IL-6 and RF (P>0.05). After receiving methotrexate treatment for 4 weeks, the serum IRF1 level of RA patients showed no significant change compared to baseline (P>0.05). By the 12th week, the serum IRF1 level decreased significantly compared with that of treatment for 4 week and pre-treatment (P<0.05). The area under ROC curve (AUC) of IRF1 and anti-CCP antibody combined for RA diagnosis was 0.968 (95%CI:0.924-1.000), which was better than the single diagnosis of IRF1 or anti-CCP antibody (AUC was 0.831 and 0.852, respectively). Conclusion Serum IRF1 level is increased in RA patients. IRF1 has a certain diagnostic value in RA, and the combined diagnostic efficiency with anti-CCP antibody is higher.

Key words: arthritis, rheumatoid, interferon regulatory factor-1, autoantibodies, methotrexate, anti-CCP antibody

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