Highlights from the breakout session: transcriptomic approaches to the study of systemic vasculitis

The search for targeted therapies and biomarkers for immune-mediated systemic vasculitis requires detailed understanding of molecular pathogenesis. Whilst candidate approaches have identified new opportunities for drug repurposing, they also miss novel approaches for targeting critical immunological or stromal pathways. On the other hand, bulk transcriptional profiling may fail to capture differences in cellular composition and, depending on the cell source profiled, miss important changes within inflamed vascular tissue. The past decade has seen major advances in both experimental techniques and analytical tools that enable multi-dimensional molecular profiling. Interrogation of the transcriptome and proteome is now possible at a single cell level, or at levels of spatial resolution within tissue that was previously unimaginable. As demonstrated during the presentations in the breakout session of the 21st International Vasculitis Workshop entitled Transcriptomic approaches to the study of systemic vasculitis, these techniques are revealing greater understanding of molecular underpinnings of the systemic vasculitides.