Report on the core data set for characterisation of individuals at-risk for developing RA

Report on the core data set for characterisation of individuals at-risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis. In this part of WP2 the existing cohorts of individuals at-risk for development of RA from the RTCure partners will be analyzed and compared for their type of data acquisition in order to define an essential core data set for describing the “at-risk” state. This approach will comprise clinical parameters (such for instance the documentation of inflammatory arthralgia), laboratory parameters (such as ultrasensitive C-reactive protein and autoantibody titers against various autoantigens and peptides thereof, citrullinated proteins and other relevant antigenic protein modifications), and other relevant biomarkers (such as autoantibody profiles, protein biomarkers, RNA expression profiles, epigenetic profiles) as well as imaging parameters (such as subclinical synovitis, osteitis or tenosynovitis). Core parameters will be identified, which allow a comprehensive but also feasible description of the nature of the at-risk state in these individuals. In addition, novel more experimental parameters, in particular approaches coming from the immune-phenotyping of T and B cell populations done in WP3 and WP4 will be added to this parameter set, if shown to be relevant for a better characterization of the at-risk state. Importantly, the agreed key parameters will allow for harmonization of patient criteria that can be applied across clinical sites so as to ensure data comparability.