TAp63: A New Protein Drug Target for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Methotrexate (MTX) is a first-line treatment in the fight against rheumatoid arthritis (RA)--an autoimmune disease characterized by joint deterioration. However, the precise therapeutic mechanisms of MTX are poorly understood. Now, researchers from Chiba University reveal that a variant of tumor protein p63, TAp63, is suppressed by MTX, which in turn suppresses the expression of another protein, Foxp3, and aggravates RA.