Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32906032›Full record

Trial reportSeminars in arthritis and rheumatism2020

The MUC5B promoter variant does not predict progression of interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis.

Elizabeth R Volkmann, Donald P Tashkin, Michael D Roth, Ning Li, Julio Charles, Maureen Mayes, Grace Kim, Jonathan Goldin, Lila Pourzand, Philip J Clements and 4 more

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Seminars in arthritis and rheumatism, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 38% of its field
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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Assessing theRMD open · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Associations with, and predictors of, progression in systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease: a scoping literature review.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Elizabeth R VolkmannDepartment of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine, USA. Electronic address: evolkmann@mednet.ucla.edu.
Donald P TashkinDepartment of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine, USA.
Michael D RothDepartment of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine, USA.
Ning LiDepartment of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine, USA.
Julio CharlesMcGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
Maureen MayesMcGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
Grace KimDepartment of Radiology, University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA; Department of Biostatistics, University of California, Los Angeles, Fielding School of Public Health Los Angeles, USA.
Jonathan GoldinDepartment of Radiology, University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA.
Lila PourzandDepartment of Radiology, University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA.
Philip J ClementsDepartment of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine, USA.
Daniel E FurstDepartment of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, USA; Department of Rheumatology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
Dinesh KhannaDepartment of Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, USA.
Robert M ElashoffDepartment of Biomathematics, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
Shervin AssassiMcGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
University of California, Los Angeles · USThe University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston · USUniversity of Florence · ITUniversity of Michigan–Ann Arbor · US

Funding

MOCSLID-DCCR01HL089901 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI ELASHOFF, ROBERT M · 2008 to 2012
$9.1M
Institutional Career Development CoreKL2TR003168 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON · PI MILLER, CHARLES C · 2019 to 2023
$4.9M
MOCSLID-CCCR01HL089758 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI TASHKIN, DONALD P · 2008 to 2012
$2.0M
Identifying predictors of treatment response in systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung diseaseK23HL150237 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI VOLKMANN, ELIZABETH R · 2020 to 2024
$910k
NCATS NIH HHS KL2 TR003168NHLBI NIH HHS K23 HL150237NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL089758NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL089901
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo investigate the prevalence of the MUC5B promoter variant rs35705950 in patients with systemic sclerosis-interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) and whether its presence predicts response to immunosuppression with cyclophosphamide (CYC) and mycophenolate (MMF).

methodsSSc-ILD patients who participated in Scleroderma Lung Study (SLS) II (MMF versus CYC) were included in this study (N = 142). TaqMan Genotyping Assays were used to determine the MUC5B rs35705950 single nucleotide polymorphism. Joint models were created to examine how the presence of this variant affected the course of the forced vital capacity (FVC) over 2 years. Linear regression models were used to investigate the relationship between the presence of this variant and the change in quantitative radiographic fibrosis.

resultsAmong 128 participants who were tested for this variant, 18% possessed at least one copy of the MUC5B minor allele. Patients with at least one copy of this allele were similar to those without the allele with respect to age, sex, SSc subtype, ILD disease severity; however, this variant was rare among African Americans (3.7%). The presence of the MUC5B variant did not affect the course of the FVC, nor the change in quantitative radiographic fibrosis, ground glass or ILD scores in either treatment arm.

conclusionIn the context of a randomized controlled trial for SSc-ILD, the presence of the MUC5B variant did not predict disease severity, nor affect treatment response to MMF or CYC. Future studies are needed to determine whether this variant affects ILD progression in other SSc cohorts and in patients receiving anti-fibrotic therapy.

Indexed as

Lung Diseases, InterstitialScleroderma, SystemicCyclophosphamideHumansImmunosuppressive AgentsLungMucin-5BMycophenolic AcidVital CapacityCyclophosphamideImmunosuppressive AgentsMUC5B protein, humanMucin-5BMycophenolic AcidBiomarkersCyclophosphamideGeneticsInterstitial lung diseaseMycophenolate mofetilPolymorphismSystemic sclerosis

Identifiers

PMID32906032
PMCPMC7584725
OpenAlexW3036012655

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.