Human TLR8 (hTLR8) and hTLR7 are highly expressed in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovial macrophages and contribute to production of pathogenic inflammatory cytokines26,30–33, and hTLR8 is aberrantly expressed in pDCs in systemic sclerosis (SSc) where it drives pathogenic IFN production34. This evidence concerns the gene TLR8 and rheumatoid arthritis.