Thus, our initial analyses, performed on 65 samples obtained before and after initiation of methotrexate, tocilizumab or rituximab therapy, point at a predominant role of IL6-derived mechanisms in driving disease activity in RA, as almost all the genes correlating (r ≥0.5) with DAS28-CRP are downregulated by tocilizumab therapy in RA biopsy samples. This evidence concerns the gene IL6 and rheumatoid arthritis.