The SYNERGY project is born to investigate the genetic connection between two inflammatory diseases

• The study led by Parc Taulí-I3PT will delve deeper into the relationship between hidradenitis suppurativa and spondyloarthritis using targeted sequencing techniques

Two pathologies that affect different tissues—the skin and the joints—could have a common genetic susceptibility that would explain why they often appear together and share immune mechanisms. This is the case of hidradenitis suppurativa i thespondyloarthritis, two immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) that can cause chronic pain, functional limitation and a significant impact on the daily lives of those who suffer from them.

Understanding the genetic connection between the two is the objective of the European project SYNERGY., which held its kick-off meeting at Parc Taulí with all the teams involved on November 6. The project —granted by the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) and the Foundation for Research in Rheumatology (FOREUM)— is co-led by researchers from the group of inflammatory joint disease, bone metabolism and systemic autoimmune diseases of I3PT Patricia Garbayo i Mireia Moreno, and has the participation of the Dermatology Service, the Rheumatology Service and the Genomic Medicine Center of the Parc Taulí.

The study is part of the line of work on hidradenitis suppurativa and spondyloarthritis that Parc Taulí began in 2023, when a multidisciplinary consultation was launched between the Rheumatology and Dermatology services to improve the diagnosis and joint monitoring of patients with these two diseases.

Now, in this new phase, the team will analyze samples from 300 patients at the Parc Taulí Center for Genomic Medicine with the aim of identifying shared and specific variants of hidradenitis suppurativa and spondyloarthritis. The research will use targeted sequencing techniques —a technique that analyzes only certain parts of the genome— to study nearly a hundred genes previously associated with each of the pathologies and observe their correlation with clinical, demographic and therapeutic data.  This approach will allow us to better understand the molecular mechanisms that explain the coexistence of the two diseases and move towards personalized medicine..

The project brings together a multidisciplinary team formed by clinical specialists with expertise in molecular biology, geneticists, bioinformaticians and biostatisticians who will work together to guarantee scientific quality and, in the future, the translation of the results into clinical practice.