Exagen and the University of Washington Collaborate on Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis Research

Exagen Inc., an organization dedicated to transforming the care continuum for patients suffering from debilitating and chronic autoimmune diseases by enabling timely differential diagnosis and optimizing therapeutic intervention, has announced a research collaboration with the University of Washington’s School of Medicine and Dr. Christian Lood, assistant professor of medicine, Division of Rheumatology.

Dr. Lood studies the role of neutrophils in inflammation and autoimmunity with an emphasis on the contribution of neutrophils to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis.

"Neutrophils are the main immune cells in the human circulation, participating in host defense through mechanisms including production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), phagocytosis and formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), a recently identified neutrophil cell death process in which DNA is extruded together with cytoplasmic and granular content to trap and eliminate extracellular pathogens. Although beneficial from a host-pathogen perspective, exaggerated neutrophil activation and NET formation has been linked to autoimmunity, particularly in SLE and RA," said Dr. Lood.

"We are excited to be working with Dr. Lood and his research regarding neutrophils and autoimmune diseases such as SLE and RA. We believe Exagen’s support for this promising research demonstrates our commitment to the advancement of clinical solutions for these complex and lifelong diseases," said Dr. Thierry Dervieux, Chief Science Officer and Medical Director at Exagen.

As centers of autoimmune research such as the University of Washington continue to study disease processes for SLE and RA, Exagen supports such efforts through its focus on the development of more effective tools to diagnose, prognose and monitor these diseases. CoMotion, the University of Washington’s collaborative innovation hub, supported Dr. Lood by filing the patent application underlying Dr. Lood’s work brought into this collaboration, and participating in sponsored research agreement negotiations.

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