Recently, the 5th International Symposium on IgG4-Related Disease (IgG4-RD) was successfully held in Milan, Italy. This conference is globally the most authoritative academic conference on IgG4-RD. Professor Zhang Wen’s team from the Department of Rheumatology of PUMCH was invited to participate in this symposium. They made multiple academic presentations, engaged in discussions, and showcased the team’s achievements in the field of IgG4-RD.

▲Group photo of PUMCH experts attending the conference, from left to right: Peng Yu, Fei Yunyun, Zhang Wen, Peng Linyi, and Zhou Jiaxin

As a core member of the organizing committee of this international symposium and the only Chinese member of the IgG4-RD Foundation (IgG4ward!), Professor Zhang Wen delivered a keynote speech: Differentiating “fibrotic” and “lymphoproliferative” IgG4-related disease: why it matters, which is currently a topic of great interest.  

Professor Fei Yunyun was invited to give a special report “Is there still a role for DMARDs in the treatment of IgG4-related disease?”, systemically reviewing the medical evidence on DMARDs in the treatment of IgG4-RD.

Several research achievements of the team were presented at the symposium. One study was the first to explore the function of Vδ T cells in IgG4-RD, providing important evidence for elucidating the pathogenesis. Another study focused on the clinical phenotype and risk factors for relapse in seronegative IgG4-RD, a subtype that does not exhibit elevated serum IgG4, providing a basis for precise treatment of the disease. The team also reported on the genome-wide association study of IgG4-RD in the Chinese Han population, revealing the impact of genetic factors on the occurrence of the disease. The team also presented several studies for poster exchanges.  

Multiple clinical studies by the team were introduced and interpreted by speakers from the US and other countries, including research on tapering or discontinuation of medication during the stable phase of IgG4-RD, organ damage index, the complement system, typing, pancreatic imaging, tumor association, and gender differences. The most notable was the team’s research on the tapering or discontinuation of medication for IgG4-RD, which is the first randomized controlled study in the field of maintenance therapy for the disease and was interpreted in depth by scholars from Japan, the US, and Canada.

The research achievements of the PUMCH team have been highly recognized by global experts in the field. Team members expressed their expectation to boost international exchanges and cooperation in the future to jointly promote progress in the research and treatment of IgG4-related disease.

Written by and picture courtesy of the Department of Rheumatology

Edited by Yan Xiaobo and Chen Xiao

Translated by Liu Haiyan

Reviewed by Jiang Nan and Wang Yao