SynthesisArthritis research & therapy2020
The role of baseline BLyS levels and type 1 interferon-inducible gene signature status in determining belimumab response in systemic lupus erythematosus: a post hoc meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Arthritis research & therapy, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of telitacicept and belimumab on systemic lupus erythematosus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- From pathogenesis to precision medicine in systemic lupus erythematosus: Emerging biomarkers and targeted interventions.iScience · 2026Review
- Increased Type I Interferon Activity with Concurrent Plasmablast Expansion Identifies Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients with Poor Outcomes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Applications of artificial intelligence in systemic lupus erythematosus: integrating multi-omics data for precision medicine.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Immune ontogeny in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus: effect of immune maturity on disease phenotype and therapeutic responses.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- High baseline CD317 expression on T cells predicts favorable anifrolumab response in systemic lupus erythematosus.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Transcriptome analysis to decipher the molecular underpinnings of response to treatment in systemic lupus erythematosus.RMD open · 2025Article
- Memory B cells and their transcriptomic profiles associated with belimumab resistance in systemic lupus erythematosus in the maintenance phase.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- The essential roles of memory B cells in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2024Review
- Single-cell transcriptomic analysis of hematopoietic progenitor cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus reveals interferon-inducible reprogramming in early progenitors.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Article
- Lupus Nephritis Risk Factors and Biomarkers: An Update.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Differential expression of IFN-α, IL-12 and BAFF on renal immune cells and its relevance to disease activity and treatment responsiveness in patients with proliferative lupus nephritis.Lupus science & medicine · 2023Article
- Potential relevance of type I interferon-related biomarkers for the management of polygenic autoimmune rheumatic diseases with childhood onset.Clinical rheumatology · 2023Article
- Treat-to-Target in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Reality or Pipe Dream.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- SLE stratification based on BAFF and IFN-I bioactivity for biologics and implications of BAFF produced by glomeruli in lupus nephritis.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2023Article
- Early and Late Response and Glucocorticoid-Sparing Effect of Belimumab in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus with Joint and Skin Manifestations: Results from the Belimumab in Real Life Setting Study-Joint and Skin (BeRLiSS-JS).Journal of personalized medicine · 2023Article
- Complement as a Biomarker for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.Biomolecules · 2023Review
- Glucocorticoids selectively affect the memory T cell response to SARS-Cov2 spike in vaccinated and post-infected patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.Journal of translational autoimmunity · 2023Article
- Targeting type I interferons in systemic lupus erythematous.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Review
- SARS-Cov2 acute and post-active infection in the context of autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases.Journal of translational autoimmunity · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundElevated B lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS) levels in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) correlate positively with disease activity; BLyS expression is directly linked to interferon (IFN) pathway activation. This post hoc meta-analysis of BLISS-52 and BLISS-76 explored the relationship between baseline BLyS mRNA/protein levels and/or type 1 IFN-inducible gene signature (IFN-1) and responses to the BLyS-targeting monoclonal antibody belimumab in SLE.
methodsIn BLISS-52 and BLISS-76, patients with autoantibody-positive SLE and a SELENA-SLEDAI score ≥ 6 and receiving stable standard SLE therapy were randomised to intravenous belimumab 10 mg/kg or placebo, plus standard of care (SoC), for 52 or 76 weeks. For this post hoc meta-analysis, patients with an appropriate mRNA sample were stratified by BLyS mRNA expression (tertiles: high/medium/low; revised quantiles: high/low), IFN-1 mRNA expression (high/low) and BLyS protein level (high/low). Co-primary endpoints were correlation between baseline BLyS and IFN-1 mRNA levels and SLE Responder Index (SRI)4 response at week 52 within BLyS/IFN-1 subgroups. Secondary endpoints included time to first severe SELENA-SLEDAI Flare Index (SFI) flare.
resultsOf 554 patients included in this analysis, 281 had received belimumab and 273 had received placebo. Baseline BLyS and IFN-1 mRNA levels were highly correlated (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient 0.7799; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.7451, 0.8106; p < 0.0001). The proportion of SRI4 responders was higher with belimumab versus placebo in all subgroups, but the difference reached statistical significance in the medium BLyS mRNA tertile (odds ratio [OR] 2.17; 95% CI 1.16, 4.04; p = 0.0153), high BLyS mRNA quantile (OR 1.58; 95% CI 1.02, 2.44; p = 0.0402), high IFN-1 mRNA (OR 1.58; 95% CI: 1.08, 2.31; p = 0.0186) and high BLyS protein (OR 3.57; 95% CI 1.63, 7.83; p = 0.0015) subgroups only. The risk of severe SFI flare was significantly lower with belimumab than placebo in the high BLyS mRNA quantile (hazard ratio [HR] 0.59; 95% CI 0.36, 0.97; p = 0.0371) and high BLyS protein (HR 0.39; 95% CI 0.19, 0.79; p = 0.0090) subgroups.
conclusionsThis post hoc meta-analysis demonstrated a tendency towards improved response to add-on intravenous belimumab 10 mg/kg versus SoC alone in patients with high baseline BLyS protein and IFN-1 mRNA levels and medium/high BLyS mRNA levels.
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