Metabolic Checkpoints in Rheumatoid Arthritis: SARM1-Mediated PANoptosis Sustains Autoimmune Tissue Inflammation

Monday, 8 June 2026, 12pm to 1pm

Chronic inflammation in autoimmune disease reflects a failure to resolve immune responses despite the presence of tissue-repair programs. Emerging evidence points to metabolic checkpoints as key determinants of immune cell fate, linking cellular bioenergetics to inflammatory function and survival. In rheumatoid arthritis, reparative macrophages undergo a metabolic shift driven by autocrine C1q signaling, leading to activation of the NAD⁺ hydrolase SARM1. This results in NAD⁺ depletion, mitochondrial crisis, and accumulation of cyclic ADP ribose, which triggers PANoptotic cell death. The resulting lytic death amplifies tissue inflammation, identifying SARM1-dependent metabolic collapse as a mechanism sustaining chronic autoimmune pathology and a potential therapeutic target.

Speaker(s): Prof. Cornelia Weyand (Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine)

Venue: Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology - Kennedy Lecture Theatre - Kennedy Lecture Theatre Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology Headington Oxford Oxfordshire OX3 7FY United Kingdom

Department: Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology (Unit)

Organiser: Tess Lawless

Host: Professor Christopher Buckley