MEDITERRANEAN JOURNAL OF RHEUMATOLOGY 32 2 2021 179 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Keywords: Rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, B-cell activating factor ©Kintrilis N, Nezos A, Theodorou E, Koutsilieris M, Mavragani CP. ABSTRACT Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a common chronic infammatory disorder afecting 0,5-1% of the population, characterised by intense cellular activation and infammation in the afected joints ultimately leading to bone and cartilage destruction. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among patients sufering from RA, with chronic infammation and genetic background emerging as major predisposing factors. Although the pathogenetic events leading to an increased rate of atherosclerosis in the afected group are not precisely described, several genetic variations have been suggested as possible mediators of this process. The aim of the current research proposal is to investigate the role of B-cell activating factor (BAFF) variants in the pathogenesis of RA-related atherosclerosis. Stored DNA samples from the Biobank in the Department of Physiology of the Medical School of the University of Athens from RA individuals and healthy controls will be analysed for polymorphisms of B-cell activating factor (BAFF) by polymeric chain reaction (PCR) based assays. Detection of plaque formation and calculation of the mean intima media thickness (mIMT) of the vessel wall will be performed in RA patients by using carotid and femoral artery ultrasonography. Complete personal and family history, biochemical and serological markers will be obtained from the RA group and associated with the genetic and IMT data. The results will be compared across the diferent sub- groups in order to determine whether any particular genetic variants can act as prognostic markers for RA-related cardiovascular disease giving eventually new insights to atherosclerotic processes in the context of chronic infammatory diseases. Such a result would invariably lead to a possible new treatment approach and/or prevention method to beneft this group of patients. Mediterr J Rheumatol 2021;32(2):179-81 https://doi.org/10.31138/mjr.32.2.179 Article Submitted: 9 Jun 2020; Revised Form: 8 Feb 2021; Article Accepted: 15 Mar 2021; Available Online: 30 Jun 2021 Cite this article as: Kintrilis N, Nezos A, Theodorou E, Koutsilieris M, Mavragani CP. B-cell Activating Factor Polymorphisms in Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Atherosclerosis. Mediterr J Rheumatol 2021;32(2):179-81. Corresponding Author: Clio P. Mavragani, MD, PhD Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Mikras Asias 75, Athens, Greece Tel.: +30-210 746 2714 Fax: +30-210 746 2571 E-mail: kmauragan@med.uoa.gr B-cell Activating Factor Polymorphisms in Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Atherosclerosis Nikolaos Kintrilis 1,2 , Adrianos Nezos 1 , Evangelos Theodorou 3 , Michalis Koutsilieris 1 , Clio P. Mavragani 1,4 1 Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece, 2 Sec- ond Internal Medicine Unit, 401 General Military Hospital of Athens, Athens, Greece, 3 Rheumatology Unit, 251 Air Force General Hospital, Athens, Greece, 4 Rheumatology Outpatient Unit, Department of Pathophysiology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Laikon Hospital, Athens, Greece RESEARCH PROTOCOL