Supported by funding from the National Institute for Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the University of Colorado Center for Mucosal Immunology and Rheumatic Disease Pathogenesis (CMIR) focuses on understanding the contributions of and inter-relations between the mucosal and systemic immune systems in the context of human rheumatic and autoimmune disease development.
This area of investigation represents one of the most important and unexploited opportunities within studies of rheumatic and autoimmune disease pathogenesis. Support for this approach comes from research advances over the past several years in several disease states, including those made by Center members who are participating in this proposal and have focused their efforts on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthropathies (SpA), as well as studies by other investigators in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome, among others.