Assays and methods for diagnosing and treating autoimmune diseases. Particularly, the invention provides methods for differential diagnosis of specific autoimmune diseases, including autoimmune rheumatic disorders.

The present invention relates to methods for detecting whether a subject suffers from an autoimmune disease, such as, for example, antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), by detecting antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) in a sample using a novel target, the lysobisphosphatidic acid (LBPA) bound to the endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) or an LBPA-binding fragment thereof. Furthermore, the present invention relates to methods for identifying an inhibitor of endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) function in autoimmune disease, preferably without a side effect on EPCR regulatory function in coagulation, and a method for producing a pharmaceutical composition comprising the steps of identifying a potential inhibitor, and suitably formulating said potential inhibitor into a pharmaceutical composition. Moreover, the present invention relates to said inhibitor as identified or said pharmaceutical composition for use in the prevention and/or treatment of an autoimmune disease, such as, for example, an antiphospholipid syndrome, in a subject. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for treating and/or preventing an autoimmune disease, such as, for example, antiphospholipid syndrome, in a subject.

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method of treating or preventing lupus (e.g., SLE) in a subject, comprising: (a) identifying the subject as having at least one differentially regulated biomarker selected from CD40, CD40L, CD86, CD80, and PD1; and (b) administering an agent that inhibits the CD40 or CD28 signaling pathway, thereby treating or preventing lupus in the subject. In other embodiments, the present invention provides a method of treating or preventing lupus (e.g., SLE) in a subject, comprising: (a) administering an agent that inhibits the CD40 or CD28 signaling pathway; (b) determining whether the agent neutralizes at least one differentially regulated biomarker selected from CD40, CD40L, CD86, CD80, and PD1; and (c) adjusting the dosing of the agent in the subject, thereby treating or preventing lupus in the subject.

The invention relates to assay methods and kits for assessing autoimmune diseases in a human subject. In embodiments, the present disclosure provides assay methods and kits for diagnosing a subject with or predicting that a subject will develop Type 1 diabetes. In embodiments, the present disclosure provides assay methods and kits for assessing responsiveness of a subject having Type 1 diabetes to treatment with alefacept. In embodiments, the present disclosure provides assay methods and kits for diagnosing a subject with systemic lupus erythematosus. In embodiments, the present disclosure provides assay methods and kits for determining if a subject is at risk of a systemic lupus erythematosus flare. In embodiments, the present disclosure provides assay methods and kits for diagnosing a subject with celiac disease.

Methods and reagents for diagnosing, prognosing, and treating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are disclosed, involving calculating an SLE risk score for a subject based on a level of each of an erythrocyte C4d (EC4d) marker, a B-cell C4d (BC4d) marker, anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), and optional rule-out markers.

Methods and reagents for diagnosing, prognosing, and treating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are disclosed, involving calculating an SLE risk score for a subject based on a level of each of an erythrocyte C4d (EC4d) marker, a B-cell C4d (BC4d) marker, antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-Smith antibodies (anti-Sm) and optional rule-out markers (SS-B/La, Scl-70, Jo-1, CENP, MCV).

The present invention relates to a biomarker composition for predicting the therapeutic effect of mesenchymal stem cells on systemic lupus erythematosus.

The present invention involves the identification of biomarkers that are predictive of impeding systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disease flare. Methods for treating patients so identified are also provided.

This disclosure provides a novel method for detecting one or more cell-bound complement activation products (CB-CAPs) using a capillary tube agglutination/lattice formation test. The method as disclosed has a wide variety of applications, including diagnosing or monitoring lupus or pre-lupus and other diseases or disorders (e.g., autoimmune or inflammatory diseases or disorders).

The disclosure relates to methods and compositions for the treatment of lupus nephritis. Specifically, the disclosure relates to methods comprising administering to a subject a type I IFN receptor inhibitor.