REVIEW published: 09 July 2021 doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.686155 Promising Therapeutic Targets for Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis † † Jie Huang 1 , Xuekun Fu 1 , Xinxin Chen 1, Zheng Li 1, Yuhong Huang 1 and Chao Liang 1,2* 1 Department of Biology, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China, 2 Institute of Integrated Bioinfomedicine and Translational Science (IBTS), School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic poly-articular chronic autoimmune joint disease that mainly damages the hands and feet, which affects 0.5% to 1.0% of the population worldwide. With the sustained development of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), significant success has been achieved for preventing and relieving disease activity in RA patients. Unfortunately, some patients still show limited response to DMARDs, which puts forward new requirements for special targets and novel therapies. Understanding the pathogenetic roles of the various molecules in RA could facilitate discovery of potential therapeutic targets and approaches. In this review, both Edited by: existing and emerging targets, including the proteins, small molecular metabolites, and Trine N. Jorgensen, epigenetic regulators related to RA, are discussed, with a focus on the mechanisms that Case Western Reserve University, result in inflammation and the development of new drugs for blocking the various United States modulators in RA. Reviewed by: Åsa Andersson, Keywords: rheumatoid arthritis, targets, proteins, small molecular metabolites, epigenetic regulators Halmstad University, Sweden Abdurrahman Tufan, Gazi University, Turkey *Correspondence: INTRODUCTION Chao Liang
[email protected] Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is classified as a systemic poly-articular chronic autoimmune joint † disease that primarily affects hands and feet.