Deciphering differential biomarkers for anti-interleukin-6 receptor and anti-tumour necrosis factor-α treatment response in rheumatoid arthritis by multiomics analysis
RMD Open, 2025
Agueusop I., Margerie D., Remaury A., Brard R., Frau F., Gerard E., Thill G., Veeranagouda Y., Didier M., Kohlmann M., Herrmann M., Biesemann N.
| Disease area | Application area | Sample type | Products |
|---|---|---|---|
Immunological & Inflammatory Diseases | Patient Stratification | Serum |  Olink Target 96 |
Abstract
Objective
To identify blood-based predictive and pharmacodynamic biomarkers at different timepoints in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with anti-interleukin-6 receptor (anti-IL-6R) and anti-tumour necrosis factor-α (anti-TNF-α).
Methods
This study used blood samples from the MONARCH trial (NCT02332590), a randomised, double-blind, phase III trial that compared the safety and efficacy of sarilumab (anti-IL-6R) and adalimumab (anti-TNF-α) monotherapy in patients with RA who were intolerant/inadequate responders to methotrexate. The study evaluated predictive biomarkers to anti-IL-6R and anti-TNF-α treatments at baseline and week 2 and pharmacodynamic biomarkers at week 2 and week 24 using Olink proteomics analysis (n=804 serum samples from 268 patients). Change in gene expression levels (n=522 peripheral blood samples from 261 patients) by both treatments was assessed using RNA sequencing analysis.
Results
Serum biomarkers most predictive to anti-IL-6R were different from those of anti-TNF-α; predictive biomarkers for anti-IL-6R were correlated with innate immune activation and synovial inflammation, while predictive biomarkers for anti-TNF-α seemed to be more T-cell and neutrophil-related. For baseline predictive biomarkers, we had to focus on relative prediction as the absolute prediction performance of single and combination biomarkers using cross-validation was limited. Additionally, the pharmacodynamic effects of anti-IL-6R and anti-TNF-α on biomarkers as well as pathway signatures were distinct.
Conclusion
The unbiased analysis of serum proteins identified biomarkers most predictive of anti-IL-6R and anti-TNF-α at different timepoints that could explain the difference in the response rate in patients with RA. Further, both biomarker and pathway results highlighted a differentiated mode of action of both treatments.