Table 2.

Proposed Research Recommendations in Autoimmune Disease Research from the SWHR Autoimmune Roundtable

Analyze epidemiological data to:

1. Estimate disease burden from a woman's health perspective;

2. Group autoimmune diseases by pathology, sex, and race in order to evaluate relationship among them;

3. Determine role of environmental agents in influencing autoimmune disease incidence trends in adults;

4. Detect and measure early life/emerging exposures in males and females;

5. Identify disease phenotypes and risk factors by sex;

6. Determine role of emerging technologies in altering immune responses.

Examine biological mechanisms to:

1. Understand role of different periods in lifespan (from in utero to menopause and beyond) and autoimmune disease;

2. Determine relationship between immune dysregulation and autoimmunity, including sex differences if any;

3. Determine role of biomarkers to predict disease onset and progression from autoimmunity to autoimmune diseases;

4. Study epigenetics and epigenetic modulators in autoimmunity;

5. Understand role of lung and immune responses within the lung in different autoimmune diseases;

6. Understand role of microbiome in autoimmune disease;

7. Determine role of obesity in response to environmental factors;

8. Link endogenous estrogen variability to disease manifestation;

9. Elucidate sex differences in

a. Phenotypic expression and disease severity of particular autoimmune diseases;

b. Adaptive and innate immune sentinel cells (that interact with environmental factors);

c. Autoantibody titers and more general immune responses;

d. Inflammasome biology;

e. Regulatory mechanistic pathways that prevent autoimmune diseases;

f. Obesity and fat deposition (and how that affects autoimmune disease development and progression);

g. Animal models of toxicity;

h. Multiple exposures and their interactions;

i. Both genetic and environmental protective factors.

Establish resources for:

1. A national-based registry and repository for all autoimmune diseases;

2. Interdisciplinary research group with various stakeholders for cost-effective collaboration;

3. Curriculum for allied health professionals;

4. Appropriate NIH study section and special emphasis panel on sex differences research;

5. Autoimmune disease parameters within the National Toxicity Program and examine autoimmune disease outcomes by sex.

Roundtable participants were asked to provide key recommendations based on existing knowledge gaps in the autoimmune disease field to facilitate progress in the autoimmune disease research. Consensus statements provided by the roundtable participants have been summarized into three categories.

NIH, National Institutes of Health.