A Blood Test That Could Transform Autoimmune Disease Care

A groundbreaking collaboration between 10x Genomics and Brigham & Women's Hospital aims to develop blood tests that could revolutionize how doctors diagnose and treat autoimmune diseases. The study will analyze blood samples from 1,000 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and giant cell arteritis to identify immune signatures that predict disease activity and treatment response.

Why Current Autoimmune Testing Falls Short?

Managing autoimmune diseases today feels like navigating in the dark. Standard clinical tests provide limited insight into the complex immune processes driving these conditions, and results can be confounded by unrelated inflammation or masked by certain therapies. Some experts describe current autoimmune disease management as a clinical "random walk," driven more by symptoms and experience rather than direct measures of immune activity.

How Single-Cell Analysis Could Change Everything?

The new approach uses single-cell profiling technology called Chromium Flex to create detailed molecular maps of circulating immune cells. Unlike traditional blood tests that look at broad markers, this technology examines individual immune cells to understand exactly what's happening at the cellular level during different disease states.

The research team will follow patients over an extended period, collecting blood samples at routine clinical visits. By pairing these detailed immune profiles with clinical data, they hope to identify specific patterns that can distinguish:

• Controlled Disease: Immune signatures that indicate stable, well-managed autoimmune conditions
• Active Inflammation: Cellular patterns that signal disease flares before symptoms become severe
• Treatment Response: Immune markers that predict which patients will respond to specific therapies
• Disease Trajectory: Molecular features that forecast whether a patient is heading toward remission or flare

"By incorporating single-cell genomics into routine clinical workflow, our goal is to transform the care of patients with autoimmune disease and enable personalized medicine in rheumatology," said co-Principal Investigator Dr. Kevin Wei.

What This Means for Patients?

If successful, this research could lead to a future where doctors can predict autoimmune flares weeks or months before they happen, allowing for preventive treatment adjustments. Instead of waiting for symptoms to worsen, physicians could use blood-based molecular features to make informed decisions about when to intensify or reduce treatments.

The collaboration also plans to develop a framework for translating complex immune data into clear, clinically relevant reports that doctors can easily interpret. This could help bridge the gap between cutting-edge immunology research and practical patient care.

"Autoimmune diseases represent one of the largest unmet needs in medicine, where patients and clinicians often lack reliable tools to understand disease activity in real time," explained Serge Saxonov, Co-founder and CEO of 10x Genomics. "By collaborating with Brigham & Women's Hospital researchers, we intend to generate the scientific foundation necessary to support more informed clinical decisions."

This study represents part of 10x Genomics' broader initiative to develop single-cell technologies for improving patient care, including plans to build a clinical laboratory certified for diagnostic testing. While the research is still in early stages, it offers hope for the millions of Americans living with autoimmune conditions who currently face uncertainty about their disease progression and treatment outcomes.