The first published results from the MAPJAG study have been released in the prestigious journal Science Translational Medicine, marking an important milestone in understanding childhood arthritis.
In this world-first study, researchers from the University of Birmingham, University College London, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital have used cutting-edge technology to analyse synovial tissue biopsies from children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), providing unprecedented insights into the cellular changes happening inside the joints of children with arthritis.
Why this matters
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis affects over 10,000 children in the UK, causing long-term pain, joint damage and disability. Treatments are available but are often based on a trial-and-error approach, as children respond differently to medications. This new research is a major step towards understanding why treatments work differently in different children.
Groundbreaking discoveries from the first phase of MAPJAG:
- First high-resolution “map” of inflamed joint tissue in children with arthritis.
- Identification of unique cellular fingerprints linked to disease severity and age.
- Clear differences were found between children and adults, explaining why children need age-specific treatment strategies.
- The study confirms that tissue analysis can provide insights that blood tests alone cannot.
- These early findings lay the groundwork for future precision medicine approaches, aiming to match the right treatment to each child.
Mapping out the networks of cells in the joint reveals a pink barrier layer, navy immune cells flooding in through light blue blood vessels, which increase in number as the disease continues
“We know how frustrating it can be for families and young people to find a drug that best works for their arthritis. Finding ways to better predict which medicines will be beneficial for a particular child would mean we were able to treat the disease more rapidly and effectively. To achieve this goal, we first needed to understand what cells make-up the lining of the joint where the inflammation occurs. Equipped with that knowledge, we can now start to tackle the next challenge, determining how these cellular fingerprints within the joint tissue can help us predict which drug will work best, ensuring we give the right drug, to the right child, at the right stage of their disease.”
“This study represents a real step change in our work with children and young people who live with arthritis, and has been a huge team effort. Rather than having to rely on blood tests which often do not tell us accurately what is happening in the joint, we can now directly analyse the joint lining, across different types of childhood arthritis and different ages. Our findings show that younger children have different types of immune cells invading their joints compared to older children. Samples from children with arthritis looked different to adult samples, with a different make up of immune cells, blood vessels and distinct connective tissue cells. This suggests that treatments may need to vary depending on age and shows why we can’t just extend studies from adult studies to understand arthritis in children.”
Read the full paper:
These are preliminary results from the first 19 participants, with many more samples already collected. The MAPJAG study continues to grow, with more exciting results to come as additional tissue samples are analysed. This research is helping lay the foundation for precision medicine in childhood arthritis, ensuring every child has the best chance of early, effective treatment.
>> ⬇️ Download full press release here (PDF) <<
>> 🎥 Watch coverage from ITV News here (Opens new page) <<
>> ⬇️ Download the lay summary here (PDF) <<
The lay summary explains the research and its findings in everyday language for patients, families, and the wider public. It was developed in collaboration with our patient and parent involvement (PPI) members, helping to ensure the content is accessible to families affected by childhood arthritis.