Final Activity Report Summary - ARDIS (Autoimmunity and rheumatic disease research groups)
In short, the PhD trainees were confronted with the following aspects during training:
-characterisation of the target structures of autoimmune responses for an improvement of diagnostic tools and eventually the development of antigen-specific immunomodulatory strategies;
- positional cloning of genes responsible for animal model diseases corresponding to human RA, MS and SS;
- in depth studies on the pathogenic pathways leading to RA, MS and SS, primarily using congenic and specifically mutated strains;
- establishment and studies of humanised mice. These mice are humanized with the human homologous genes identified in the animal models like MHC class II and type II collagen;
- establishment of a higher plateau in the knowledge base and enhanced treatment strategies that can be applied, in whole or in part, to other autoimmune diseases.