Soluble biomarkers associated with response to treatment with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors in psoriatic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To identify soluble biomarkers associated with response to therapy with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

METHODS: The study was conducted at a PsA clinic where patients are assessed every 6 months, and serum samples are collected and stored once a year at the time of clinical assessment. Forty patients with active PsA who gave serum samples prior to treatment with TNFi and after at least 3 months of therapy were identified. Patients were classified as TNFi responders if tender joint count was < 3, swollen joint count was 0, and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score was < 4 at the time the second sample was collected. The following biomarkers were tested by ELISA: TNF superfamily 14, matrix metalloprotease-3 (MMP-3), receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand, osteoprotegerin, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), CPII, C2C and C1-2C, CS-846, and highly sensitive C-reactive protein. Paired t tests and logistic regression was used for statistical analyses.

RESULTS: After a mean treatment duration of 11 months with TNFi (etanercept 28 patients, adalimumab 6, golimumab 4, infliximab 2), 29 patients were classified as TNFi responders. Baseline level of MMP-3 was independently associated with responder status (OR 1.067 for each 1-unit increase, p = 0.045). A reduction in MMP-3 levels with therapy increased the odds of achieving response (OR 1.213 for each 1-unit change, p = 0.030), whereas a reduction in COMP decreased the odds (OR 0.587, for each 100-unit increase, p = 0.039). None of the other biomarkers was associated with response.

CONCLUSION: Baseline as well as reduction in serum MMP-3 and increase in serum COMP are independently associated with response to TNFi therapy in patients with PsA.