Jennifer Anolik, MD, PhD and colleagues Nida Meednu, PhD and Javier Rangel-Moreno, PhD recently published the article "B cells inhibit bone formation in rheumatoid arthritis by suppressing osteoblast differentiation" in Nature Communications. Drs. Anolik, Meednu and Rangel-Moreno in collaboration with Lianping Xing, BMed, PhD and other colleagues from the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, demonstrated that B cells in rheumatoid arthritis directly inhibit the differentiation of precursor cells into osteoblasts. By identifying B cells as a pivotal player in immune-mediated bone damage in RA, they have opened the door for further investigation into potential targeted therapy to prevent bone loss.