Effects of Abatacept on Myocarditis in Rheumatoid Arthritis (AMiRA)

April 14, 2023 updated by: Laura Geraldino-Pardilla, Columbia University
This study aims to evaluate the effects of abatacept, a CTLA4-Ig fusion protein that binds cluster of differentiation antigen 80 (CD80)/86 (B7-1/B7-2), on subclinical myocarditis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) through its effect on T cell subpopulations. RA patients without clinical CVD, biologic naïve, and with inadequate response to methotrexate (MTX), will undergo cardiac fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computerized tomography (CT) imaging to assess myocardial inflammation. Studies that investigate the impact of treatment on subclinical myocarditis in RA, a possible contributor to heart failure, while exploring potential underlying mechanisms (i.e., different T cell subpopulations), are needed for a better understanding of their relevance in the pathogenesis of heart failure in RA and survival improvement in these patients with excess risk for cardiovascular death. If the investigator hypothesis is confirmed and treatment with abatacept decreases and/or suppresses or prevents myocardial inflammation in RA, this will have multidisciplinary implications that could lead to changes in the current management of RA patients at high risk for cardiovascular events. Similarly, identification of T cell subpopulations in RA patients with myocardial FDG uptake will shed light into the underlying cellular mechanisms of myocardial injury and serve to guide the use of therapies that prevent their pathogenicity. The objectives of this study are to compare the change in myocardial FDG uptake in RA patients treated with abatacept vs adalimumab, and identify T cell subpopulations associated with myocardial FDG uptake in each treatment arm. RA patients will be randomized in an unblinded, 1:1 ratio to treatment with abatacept vs adalimumab. A cardiac FDG PET/CT will be performed at baseline and 16 weeks post-biologic treatment. T cell subpopulations associated with myocardial FDG uptake will be evaluated at both points in time with their transcriptional phenotype outlined by RNA sequencing.

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease that affects ~1% of the population. Regardless of the novel therapies developed in the last decades, studies report an increased standard mortality ratio as high as 3.0 when compared with the general population. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in RA subjects in whom the average lifespan is reduced by 8-15 years compared to matched controls. RA patients are at increased risk for developing heart failure and inflammatory myocarditis potentially contributes to this excess risk. Although subclinical myocarditis remains poorly characterized to date in RA, costimulatory molecules such as CD80/86 (B7s) and CD40 are known to play a pivotal role for cytokine production and antigen-specific T cell activation in viral myocarditis, and in murine models, blocking CD40L/B7-1 and CTLA4 significantly decreases myocardial inflammation, damage, and mortality. In addition, the recent increase in the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of numerous cancers, has raised awareness of the occurrence of fulminant autoimmune lymphocytic myocarditis as a complication of these drugs including anti-CTLA4 due to a presumed uncontrolled immune response resulting in T-cell mediated myocardial injury. Interestingly, pilot data showed lower myocardial FDG uptake in RA patients on the a CTLA4-Ig fusion protein abatacept compared with other DMARDs. These data raise the possibility of immunotherapy for the treatment of myocarditis in RA, suggesting a role for T cell infiltration in its pathogenesis, and a particular benefit for treatment with abatacept vs non-abatacept biologic DMARDs.

In a single RHeumatoid arthritis studY of THe Myocardium (RHYTHM study), a total of 119 RA patients without clinical CVD underwent cardiac FDG-PET/CT, with myocardial inflammation assessed qualitatively and quantitatively by visual inspection and by calculation of the standardized-uptake-value (SUV) units. Qualitative myocardial FDG uptake was observed in 39% of the patients. Animal data showing decreased myocardial inflammation, damage, and mortality, and improved cardiac function with CD40L/B7-1 and CTLA4 blockage, coupled with preliminary findings of lower myocardial inflammation in RA patients on abatacept vs other DMARDs, suggest that abatacept treatment has potential myocardial benefits. In RA patients, the proportion of peripheral T cell subsets significantly differs from normal controls and include differentiation to memory effector subsets, acquisition of natural killer (NK) receptors, exhaustion markers, and enhanced inflammatory cytokine expression. Importantly, T cell lymphocytic infiltration described in autoimmune myocarditis resulting as a complication of CTLA4 immune checkpoint inhibition, suggests a role for T cell subsets in the pathogenesis of myocarditis in RA with potential differences depending on mechanism of action of the DMARD in use. Studies that investigate the impact of treatment on subclinical myocarditis in RA, a possible contributor to heart failure, while exploring potential underlying mechanisms (i.e., different T cell subpopulations), are needed for a better understanding of their relevance in the pathogenesis of heart failure in RA and survival improvement in these patients with excess risk for cardiovascular death. If the investigator hypothesis is confirmed and treatment with abatacept decreases and/or suppresses or prevents myocardial inflammation in RA, this will have multidisciplinary implications that could lead to changes in the current management of RA patients at high risk for cardiovascular events. Similarly, identification of T cell subpopulations in RA patients with myocardial FDG uptake will shed light into the underlying cellular mechanisms of myocardial injury and serve to guide the use of therapies that prevent their pathogenicity.

This is a single-center study. Twenty RA patients will be recruited over a planned recruitment period of 24 months, and randomized with aims of enrolling 10 patients per year, the enrollment rate is estimated as 1 patient per month. The target population consists of patients who are deemed methotrexate-inadequate responders by the patient's treating rheumatologist, and who have not yet stepped up to additional treatment with a biologic DMARD.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

11

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10023
        • Columbia University Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

16 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Written informed consent signed by the subject.
  • Patients age > 18 years.
  • Fulfilling the American College of Rheumatology 2010 classification criteria for RA.
  • MTX for ≥ 8 weeks at ≥ 15mg weekly or on at least 7.5mg of methotrexate weekly for ≥8 weeks with a documented intolerance of higher MTX doses, and on a stable dose for the previous 4 weeks;
  • Naïve to biologic treatment.
  • If the subject is a woman with childbearing potential, a urine sample will be taken for a pregnancy test. The results of the pregnancy test must be negative.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Prior biologic use.
  • Any prior self-reported physician diagnosed CV event (myocardial infarction; angina; stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA); heart failure; prior CV procedure (i.e., coronary artery bypass graft, angioplasty, valve replacement, pacemaker).
  • Active history of cancer.
  • Prior use of immune checkpoint inhibitors.
  • Known pregnancy, HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, active (or untreated latent) tuberculosis.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: TNF inhibitor arm
Treatment with a adalimumab, as the TNF-inhibitor arm, will consist of every 2 weeks SQ injections at a dose of 40mg.
Drug: Adalimumab
40 Mg/0.8 mL Subcutaneous Kit
Other Names:
  • Humira
Active Comparator: Non- Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor arm
Treatment with abatacept will consist of weekly subcutaneous (SQ) injections at a dose of 125mg.
Drug: Abatacept
125 MG/ML subcutaneous injections
Other Names:
  • Orencia

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Myocardial FDG Uptake in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Patients Treated With Abatacept vs Adalimumab.
Time Frame: Baseline, 16 weeks
Using FDG PET cardiac imaging to identify myocardial inflammation at baseline and post-treatment, the study will quantitatively compare the change in myocardial FDG uptake in biologic naïve RA patients without clinical CVD and with inadequate methotrexate response, following randomization to 16-week treatment with abatacept vs the TNF-inhibitor adalimumab. Conventional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and measures of RA disease activity and severity will be ascertained.
Baseline, 16 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Prevalence of T Cell Subpopulations Associated With Myocardial FDG Uptake in RA Patients Treated With Abatacept vs Adalimumab.
Time Frame: Baseline, 16 weeks
This is to test whether elevations in different T cell subsets are associated with myocardial FDG uptake in RA patients treated with abatacept vs adalimumab. Subsequently, the transcriptional phenotype of candidate subpopulations.
Baseline, 16 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Columbia University

Collaborators

Bristol-Myers Squibb

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Laura Geraldino-Pardilla, MD, CUMC

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

July 10, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 15, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

September 15, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 3, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 3, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

August 8, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 8, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 14, 2023

Last Verified

April 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • AAAS2235

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Rheumatoid Arthritis

Clinical Trials on Abatacept

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in New Zealand

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

3
Subscribe