Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29720252›Full record

ArticleArthritis research & therapy2018

Estrogen induces St6gal1 expression and increases IgG sialylation in mice and patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a potential explanation for the increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis in postmenopausal women.

Cecilia Engdahl, Albert Bondt, Ulrike Harre, Jasmin Raufer, René Pfeifle, Alessandro Camponeschi, Manfred Wuhrer, Michaela Seeling, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, Falk Nimmerjahn and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Arthritis research & therapy, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
64citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

64 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Sex-dependent mechanisms in rheumatic diseases.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. The Impact of Menopause on Autoimmune and Rheumatic Diseases.Clinical reviews in allergy & immunology · 2025
    Review
  11. Review
  12. Therapeutic potential ofVeterinary world · 2025
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review

4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Cecilia EngdahlDepartment of Internal Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany. cecilia.engdahl@gu.se.ORCID 0000-0002-8914-0178
Albert BondtDepartment of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Ulrike HarreDepartment of Internal Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Jasmin RauferDepartment of Internal Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.
René PfeifleDepartment of Internal Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Alessandro CamponeschiDepartment of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Manfred WuhrerCenter for Proteomics and Metabolomics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Michaela SeelingCenter for Proteomics and Metabolomics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Inga-Lill MårtenssonDepartment of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Falk NimmerjahnInstitute of Genetics at the Department of Biology, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Gerhard KrönkeDepartment of Internal Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Hans U SchererDepartment of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Helena Forsblad-d'EliaDepartment of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Georg SchettDepartment of Internal Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany. georg.schett@uk-erlangen.de.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRheumatoid arthritis (RA) preferentially affects women, with the peak incidence coinciding with estrogen decrease in menopause. Estrogen (E2) may therefore have intrinsic immune-regulatory properties that vanish with menopause. Fc sialylation is a crucial factor determining the inflammatory effector function of antibodies. We therefore analyzed whether E2 affects immunoglobulin G (IgG) sialylation.

methodsPostmenopausal (ovariectomized) mice were immunized with ovalbumin and treated with E2 or vehicle. Total and ovalbumin-specific IgG concentrations, sialylation, and Fcγ receptor expression were analyzed. Postmenopausal women with RA receiving hormone replacement therapy, including E2, or no treatment were analyzed for IgG sialylation. Furthermore, effects of E2 on the expression of the sialylation enzyme β-galactoside α2,6-sialyltransferase 1 (St6Gal1) were studied in mouse and human antibody-producing cells.

resultsE2 treatment significantly increased Fc sialylation of total and ovalbumin-specific IgG in postmenopausal mice. Furthermore, E2 led to increased expression of inhibitory Fcγ receptor IIb on bone marrow leukocytes. Treatment with E2 also increased St6Gal1 expression in mouse and human antibody-producing cells, providing a mechanistic explanation for the increase in IgG-Fc sialylation. In postmenopausal women with RA, treatment with E2 significantly increased the Fc sialylation of IgG.

conclusionsE2 induces anti-inflammatory effector functions in IgG by inducing St6Gal1 expression in antibody-producing cells and by increasing Fc sialylation. These observations provide a mechanistic explanation for the increased risk of RA in conditions with low estrogen levels such as menopause.

Indexed as

PostmenopauseAnimalsArthritis, Rheumatoidbeta-D-Galactoside alpha 2-6-SialyltransferaseB-LymphocytesEstrogen Replacement TherapyEstrogensFemaleGene Expression Regulation, EnzymologicHumansImmunoglobulin GMice, Inbred C57BLMiddle AgedOvalbuminOvariectomyReceptors, IgGbeta-D-Galactoside alpha 2-6-SialyltransferaseEstrogensFc gamma receptor IIBImmunoglobulin GOvalbuminReceptors, IgGSialic AcidsSialyltransferasesAntibody sialylationEstrogenFemale sexRheumatoid arthritis

Identifiers

PMID29720252
PMCPMC5932893

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.