Abstract: The present invention provides a method of measuring the levels of APRIL in a biological sample, in a preferred embodiment, in serum. The diagnostic assays are useful in predicting an individual's likelihood of developing or currently suffering from an autoimmune disease, such as RA, predicting the future severity of the disease, and for methods for treating an individual clinically diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. This diagnostic test serves to predict a patient's likelihood to respond to a specific drug treatment, in particular treatment with APRIL antagonists, either singly or in combination with other immune suppressive drugs.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for predicting the responsiveness of a patient to a treatment with a TNF-alpha blocking agent, said method comprising determining the presence or absence of a guanine at position ?238, a guanine at position ?308, and a cytosine at position ?857 of the TNF-alpha gene of said patient, wherein the simultaneous presence of a guanine at position ?238, a guanine at position ?308, and a cytosine at position ?857 of the TNF-alpha gene in both copies of said TNF-alpha gene of said patient is indicative of a lessened likelihood of responsiveness of said patient to a treatment with a TNF-alpha blocking agent with respect to standard responsiveness.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of measuring the levels of APRIL in a biological sample, in a preferred embodiment, in serum. The diagnostic assays are useful in predicting an individual's likelihood of developing or currently suffering from an autoimmune disease, such as RA, predicting the future severity of the disease, and for methods for treating an individual clinically diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. This diagnostic test serves to predict a patient's likelihood to respond to a specific drug treatment, in particular treatment with APRIL antagonists, either singly or in combination with other immune suppressive drugs.