Cristina Arriens, M.D., MSCS

My research interests in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus involve a molecular investigation of biomarkers and use of this knowledge to assist guidance of therapy. Metabolomic profiling of SLE patients noted a reduction of the essential omega-3 fatty acids that are found in fish oil supplements, as well as increased markers of inflammation and reduced markers of energy stores. Based on these findings, I contributed to additional biomarker studies and designed and implemented a clinical trial of fish oil in SLE patients. I more recently worked on a translational study incorporating cytokine and gene transcriptional biomarkers related to disease activity and SLE subgrouping and studies evaluating complement split products.

The initial months of my rheumatology fellowship exposed me to numerous lupus nephritis patients suffering from poor treatment response and signs of irreversible damage. My clinical experience and background in basic science research has inspired my design of clinical and translational studies evaluating clinical response to LN therapies. I have evaluated the outcomes of end-stage renal disease and death in a large observational cohort of LN patients. Additionally, I am evaluating further data in the cohort, including delayed disease. Currently, I am evaluating genetic, gene expression, and cytokine data to determine risk of early lupus nephritis, impact of therapy, and treatment response.

The findings are likely to assist design of future investigator-initiated studies. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to contribute to phase 1, 2, and 3 lupus nephritis and SLE clinical trials. I had the opportunity to present findings of a recent Phase 3 lupus nephritis study at the European League Against Rheumatism annual meeting and am a co-author on the initial manuscript published in The Lancet detailing the clinical trial results "Voclosporin efficacy and safety in lupus nephritis (AURORA 1): a phase 3, double blind, randomised, multi-centre, placebo-controlled trial."

I have assessed SLE disease activity with the SLE Disease Activity Index, the SLE Flare Index, the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group index, the Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Disease Area and Severity Index, and Physician Global Assessment in industry sponsored, NIH sponsored, and other investigator initiated SLE clinical trials. I am also leading qualitative studies of SLE patients to determine barriers to clinical trial participation and their opinions of consent forms and patient-reported outcomes forms.

B.S. in Genetics – Texas A&M University, 2002
M.D. – University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 2007
Internal Medicine Residency – University of New Mexico School of Medicine, 2010
Rheumatology Fellowship – University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 2013
M.S. in Clinical Science – University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 2015

Recent Publications

Anderson E, Powell M, Yang E, Kar A, Leung TM, Sison C, Steinberg R, Mims R, Choudhury A, Espinosa C, Zelmanovich J, Okoye NC, Choi EJ, Marder G, Narain S, Gregersen PK, Mackay M, Diamond B, Levy T, Zanos TP, Khosroshahi A, Sanz I, Luning Prak ET, Bar-Or A, Merrill J, Arriens C, Pardo G, Guthridge J, James J, Payne A, Utz PJ, Boss JM, Aranow C, Davidson A. Factors associated with immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in autoimmune disease individuals. JCI Insight, 2024 June, PMID: 38833310, PMCID: PMC11383356

Jog NR, Wagner CA, Aberle T, Chakravarty EF, Arriens C, Guthridge JM, James JA. Neutrophils isolated from systemic lupus erythematosus patients exhibit a distinct functional phenotype. Front Immunol 15:1339250, 2024 March, PMID: 38524128, PMCID: PMC10957542

Slight-Webb S, Thomas K, Smith M, Wagner CA, Macwana S, Bylinska A, Donato M, Dvorak M, Chang SE, Kuo A, Cheung P, Kalesinskas L, Ganesan A, Dermadi D, Guthridge CJ, DeJager W, Wright C, Foecke MH, Merrill JT, Chakravarty E, Arriens C, Maecker HT, Khatri P, Utz PJ, James JA, Guthridge JM. Ancestry-based differences in the immune phenotype are associated with lupus activity. JCI Insight 8, 2023 August, PMID: 37606045, PMCID: PMC10543734

Selected publications

Rovin BH, Teng YKO, Ginzler EM, Arriens C, Caster DJ, Romero-Diaz J, Gibson K, Kaplan J, Lisk L, Navarra S, Parikh SV, Randhawa S, Solomons N, Huizinga RB. Voclosporin efficacy and safety in lupus nephritis (AURORA 1): a phase 3, double blind, randomised, multi-centre, placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet, 2021 May 7. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00578-X,  PMID: 33971155

Arriens C, Aberle T, Carthen F, Kamp S, Thanou A, Chakravarty E, James JA, Merrill JT, Ogunsanya ME. Lupus Patient Decisions About Clinical Trial Participation: A Qualitative Evaluation of Perceptions, Facilitators and Barriers. Lupus Sci. Med. 2020 Mar 15;7(1):e000360. PMID: 32201595 PMCID: PMC7073780.

Arriens C, Alexander RV, Narain S, Saxena A, Collins CE, Wallace DJ, Massarotti E, Conklin J, Kalunian KC, Putterman C, Ramsey-Goldman R, Buyon JP, Askanase A, Furie RA, James JA, Bello GA, Manzi S, Ahearn J, O'Malley T, Weinstein A, Dervieux T. Cell-Bound Complement activation Products Associate with Lupus Severity in SLE. Lupus Sci Med.  2020 Apr;7(1):e000377. PMID: 32371480, PMCID: PMC7228655.

Arriens C, Wren JD, Munroe ME, Mohan C. Systemic lupus erythematosus biomarkers: the challenging quest. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2017 Apr;56(Sup1):i32-i45.PubMed PMID: 28013203; PMCID PMC5850341.

Arriens C, Chen S, Karp DR, Saxena R, Sambandam K, Chakravarty E, James JA, Merrill JT. Prognostic significance of repeat biopsy in lupus nephritis: Histopathologic worsening and a short time between biopsies is associated with significantly increased risk for end stage renal disease and death. Clin Immunol. 2016 Dec 3. pii: S1521-6616(16)30668-4.. Epub 2016 Dec 3. PMID: 27923701, PMCID: PMC5457715.

Arriens C, Hynan LS, Lerman RH, Karp DR, Mohan C. Placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial of fish oil's impact on fatigue, quality of life, and disease activity in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Nutr J. 2015 Aug 18;14:82. PMID: 26283629, PMCID: PMC4538741.

Arthritis & Clinical Immunology Research Program, MS 22
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
825 N.E. 13th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73104

Phone: (405) 271-7805
Fax: (405) 271-8797
E-mail: Cristina-Arriens@omrf.org

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