We are pleased to share that the MAPJAG study has been expanded to include a healthy comparator group, marking an important step forward in our ability to understand childhood arthritis at a tissue level.
MAPJAG focuses on analysing synovial tissue from children and young people with inflammatory arthritis to better understand what is happening inside the joint, where the disease takes place. Until now, this work has focused on characterising disease. Building on the first MAPJAG results published through the TRICIA network, this expansion allows us to place disease findings in the context of healthy joint biology.
The comparator samples are not taken from “healthy volunteers” in the traditional sense. Instead, tissue is collected, with consent, from individuals who are already undergoing clinical procedures where small amounts of tissue would otherwise be discarded. This approach ensures that samples can be obtained in a way that is both ethical and acceptable, without requiring additional invasive procedures.
Why this matters
Including this comparator group will allow us to more clearly distinguish which features are specific to disease and which reflect normal joint biology. This is an important step towards identifying the cellular and molecular changes that drive inflammation, and towards understanding what a truly healthy joint looks like at a tissue level.
This expansion also strengthens the wider research programme, including work within the ARCADIA consortium, where comparing diseased and non-diseased tissue is central to defining remission and predicting relapse.
Although the amendment has now been approved and implemented across sites, sample collection is still in the early stages as we establish the practical pathways required. As this develops, the inclusion of comparator samples will help build a more complete picture of joint biology in children and support the long-term aim of more targeted and effective treatments.