René E. M. Toes

This study identifies symmetrical dimethylarginine (sDMA) as the central antigenic determinant recognized by anti-Smith autoantibodies in SLE, showing their high cross-reactivity to sDMA-containing viral epitopes.

This study shows that some anti-topoisomerase 1 autoantibodies (ATAs) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) bind more strongly to TOP1-DNA cleavage complexes, correlating with disease severity and immune activation.

The paper identifies microbial antigen, specifically fungal topoisomerase 1, as a trigger for autoreactive B cells in systemic sclerosis by showing cross-reactivity between human and microbial TOP1.

The paper identifies a subgroup of SLE patients with high plasmablast frequency and IFN signature, enriched in those with Sm/RNP antibodies, linking IFN to B cell hyperactivity and autoantibody production.

This study identifies IL-6's role in elevating thrombosis in RA via platelet 12-lipoxygenase-generated pro-coagulant phospholipids.

The paper identifies Fc proteoforms of ACPA IgG that distinguish autoimmune responses in RA patients and correlate with disease activity.

This paper benchmarks six computational methods for reconstructing B-cell receptors from scRNA-seq data, finding BALDR, BASIC, and BRACER perform best overall.