Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38311638›Full record

ArticleClinical rheumatology2024

The impact of folate pathway variants on the outcome of methotrexate therapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Azhar M Nomair, Abeer Abdelati, Fatma I Dwedar, Rehab Elnemr, Yasmine N Kamel, Hanan M Nomeir

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical rheumatology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 27% 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

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. International journal of molecular medicine · 2026
    Review
  6. Review
  7. Iranian journal of pathology · 2025
    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

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Azhar M NomairDepartment of Chemical Pathology, Medical Research Institute, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2359-2390
Abeer AbdelatiDepartment of Internal Medicine, Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt. abir.ibrahim@alexmed.edu.eg.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1460-0619
Fatma I DwedarDepartment of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
Rehab ElnemrDepartment of Physical Medicine Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
Yasmine N KamelDepartment of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
Hanan M NomeirDepartment of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1255-2705
Alexandria University · EG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere are currently no validated criteria that entirely explain or predict response to methotrexate (MTX) treatment in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We tried to identify the connection between three variants (RFC1 G80A (rs1051266), TYMS 2R/3R (rs34743033), and ATIC C347G (rs2372536)) in the folate pathway of MTX metabolism and the response to MTX monotherapy in a cohort of RA cases.

methodsA prospective study on 100 RA patients on MTX monotherapy was performed. Disease activity was measured at the start of treatment and 6 months after treatment with MTX. The patients were then split into two groups: those who responded to the treatment and those who did not. The molecular genetic study for the RFC1 (G80A) variant was employed via the PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique, the ATIC (C347G) variant was performed using TaqMan allelic discrimination real-time PCR, and the tandem repeat sequences of TYMS (2R/3R) were amplified by conventional PCR and detected by agarose gel electrophoresis.

resultsThe genotype distribution of RFC-1 (G80A) showed significant variations among non-responders and responders in the recessive genetic model. A significant difference was found in TYMS (2R/3R) in the dominant and heterozygous genetic models. However, ATIC (C347G) genotype frequency did not exhibit substantial link with drug response in all genetic models. Furthermore, the genotype and allele rates of the analyzed variants did not show any significant association with adverse events in all genetic models.

conclusionThe 80AA genotype of RFC-1 G80A and the 2R/3R or 3R/3R genotypes of TYMS 2R/3R are more vulnerable to the good consequences of MTX therapy. Key Points • Current recommendations support the gold standard role of MTX as a first-line monotherapy for RA patients. However, up to 40% of RA patients do not respond or exhibit partial response to MTX. • Persistent disease activity due to treatment unresponsiveness will affect the long-term outcomes in RA patients. • We aimed, through molecular genetic study, to identify the connection between three variants in the folate pathway of MTX metabolism and the response to methotrexate monotherapy in a cohort of RA patients.

Indexed as

Antirheumatic AgentsArthritis, RheumatoidFolic AcidHumansMethotrexatePolymorphism, Single NucleotideProspective StudiesAntirheumatic AgentsFolic AcidMethotrexateATICMethotrexateRFC-1Rheumatoid arthritisTYMSVariant

Identifiers

PMID38311638
PMCPMC10876746
OpenAlexW4391537287

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Registered trials

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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.