Lars Klareskog (born 1945) is a Swedish physician, immunologist, and rheumatologist, known for research into the genetics of autoimmune diseases such as

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are invol ...

(RA). Klareskog received his medical degree from the University of Uppsala in 1974 and received his doctorate in 1978 with thesis ''On the structure, function and tissue distribution of HLA-DR and Ia antigens''. From 1990 to 1993, he held the chair of clinical immunology at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

. He then held the chair of rheumatology at the

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led Medical school, medical university in Solna Municipality, Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. ...

and the Karolinska Clinic until 2012 and was head of the Rheumatology Clinic and Research Group. Since 2008 he is also director of the Center for Molecular Medicine. In the mid-2000s, he and his research team found that, in patients with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA), previous smoking was dose-dependently associated with the occurrence of antibodies to the α-amino acid

citrulline The organic compound citrulline is an α-amino acid. Its name is derived from ''citrullus'', the Latin word for watermelon. Although named and described by gastroenterologists since the late 19th century, it was first isolated from watermelon in 1 ...

. The presence of

HLA-DR HLA-DR is an MHC class II cell surface receptor encoded by the human leukocyte antigen complex on chromosome 6 region 6p21.31. The complex of HLA-DR (Human Leukocyte Antigen – DR isotype) and peptide, generally between 9 and 30 amino acids in ...

shared epitope (SE) genes was a risk factor for RA with the presence of anticitrulline antibodies but not for RA without the presence of anticitrulline antibodies. For smokers there was a large interaction between smoking and HLA-DR SE genes for anticitrulline-positive RA but not for anticitrulline-negative RA. He has been a visiting professor and visiting scholar at Harvard Medical School, Imperial College London (Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology), Cornell University Hospital of Special Surgery, Seattle, Leeds and Denver (University of Colorado). In 2013 he received the

Crafoord Prize The Crafoord Prize is an annual science prize established in 1980 by Holger Crafoord, a Swedish industrialist, and his wife Anna-Greta Crafoord. The Prize is awarded in partnership between the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Crafoord Foun ...

with Robert J. Winchester and Peter K. Gregersen for polyarthritis research. From 1995 to 2012 he was a member of the

Nobel Committee A Nobel Committee is a working body responsible for most of the work involved in selecting Nobel Prize laureates. There are five Nobel Committees, one for each Nobel Prize. Four of these committees (for prizes in physics, chemistry, physiolo ...

Selected publications

* with H. Källberg et al.: ''Gene-gene and gene-environment interactions involving HLA-DRB1, PTPN22, and smoking in two subsets of rheumatoid arthritis'', ''American J. Hum. Genetics'', Vol. 80, 2007, pp. 867-875 * with E.F. Remmers et al.: ''STAT4 and the risk of rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus''. In: ''New England Journal of Medicine'', Vol. 357, 2007, pp. 977-986. * with J. Rönnelid, K. Lundberg et al.: '' Immunity to citrullinated proteins in rheumatoid arthritis ''. In: ''

Annual Review of Immunology The ''Annual Review of Immunology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Annual Reviews. It releases an annual volume of review articles relevant to the field of immunology. It was first published in 1983 with inaugural editor Wil ...

'', Vol. 26, 2008, pp. 651-675. * with A. C. Catrina & S. Paget: ''Rheumatoid arthritis (seminar)''. In: ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...

'', Volume 373, 2009 pp. 659-672 * with H. Mahdi et al.: ''Specific Interaction between genotype, smoking and autoimmunity to citrullinated alpha-enolase in the etiology of rheumatoid arthritis''. In: ''

Nature Genetics ''Nature Genetics'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio. It was established in 1992. It covers research in genetics. The chief editor is Tiago Faial. The journal encompasses genetic and functional genomic studi ...

'', Vol. 41, 2009, pp. 1319-1324 * with S. Saevarsdottir et al.: '' Patients with early rheumatoid arthritis who smoke are less likely to respond to methotrexate and TNF inhibitors. Observations from the EIRA cohort and the Swedish Rheumatology Register ''. In: '' Arthritis & Rheumatism '', January 2011. * with L Mathsson, M Mullazehi, MC Wick, O Sjöberg, et al .: ''Antibodies against citrullinated vimentin in rheumatoid arthritis: Higher sensitivity and extended prognostic value concerning future radiographic progression as compared with cyclic citrullinated peptides''. In: ''Arthritis Rheum'', 2007, 58 (1), pp. 36-45

References

External links

Homepage at Karolinska Institute
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Lars Klareskog M.D., Ph.D.: Executive Summary & Biography - Bloomberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klareskog, Lars 20th-century Swedish physicians 21st-century Swedish physicians Swedish immunologists 1945 births Living people