INOVA Diagnostics of San Diego, CA, has licensed a new test developed by a team of rheumatologists at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. The test measures antibodies to carbamylated protein (anti-CarP), which differs in 1 methyl group from anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) by detecting homocitrulline rather than citrulline.
The team had previously found that antibodies recognizing CarP were present in approximately 50% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and are detected in up to 30% of patients who test negative for ACPA, with a correlation to increased joint damage.
With the new licensing agreement, the research team is optimistic that further study into anti-CarP will lead to a new understanding of the pathogenesis of RA and to new treatments. Musculoskeletal Network; February 14, 2013