Joint damage and synovial inflammation in RA are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Epigenetics, which modifies DNA, is one of the key regulators of gene expression. Epigenetics offers new ways to think about environmental and stress exposure in inflamed tissue. One particular mechanism in epigenetics, known as methylation, can repress gene expression and change cell behavior. For RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS), a specialized cell in RA present in connective tissue, changes in the gene through methylation can be permanent. Using multiple datasets for RA FLS, Gary S. Firestein, MD of the University of California, San Diego discovered that a candidate gene, known as LBH, is connected to the onset and development of RA. By studying the functions of LBH, Dr. Firestein could define mechanisms behind joint damage and synovial inflammation in RA.