Search results for " Rheumatoid"
showing 10 items of 143 documents
Humoral autoreactivity directed against surfactant protein-A (SP-A) in rheumatoid arthritis synovial fluids.
2000
SUMMARY SP-A is found principally in the lung, and has been associated with lamellar bodies also found in the synovial joint. Both SP-A and C1q contain collagen-like regions, and SP-A and C1q have some structural similarities, both having a globular head region and a collagen-like tail. Here we are able to show that (i) autoreactivity to SP-A, as expressed by IgG and IgM autoantibodies, is present in synovial fluid (SF) isolated from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA); (ii) in absorption experiments only a limited degree of cross-reactivity between autoantibodies reactive with C1q and SP-A is observed; (iii) there is no cross-reactivity between autoantibodies reactive with type II coll…
Physical inactivity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: data from twenty-one countries in a cross-sectional, international study.
2008
Objective Regular physical activity is associated with decreased morbidity and mortality. Traditionally, patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been advised to limit physical exercise. We studied the prevalence of physical activity and associations with demographic and disease-related variables in patients with RA from 21 countries. Methods The Questionnaires in Standard Monitoring of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (QUEST-RA) is a cross-sectional study that includes a self-report questionnaire and clinical assessment of nonselected consecutive outpatients with RA who are receiving usual clinical care. Frequency of physical exercise (≥30 minutes with at least some shortness of brea…
Efficacy and safety of rituximab with and without methotrexate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis patients: Results from the GISEA register
2014
Abstract Introduction Rituximab (RTX) is a monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in association with methotrexate (MTX). Objectives To evaluate the efficacy and safety of RTX–MTX combination therapy compared with RTX alone in the treatment of RA. Methods We analyzed data from a prospective cohort study, the Italian biologic register GISEA, to investigate the efficacy and safety of rituximab. Moreover, the adverse events (AE) and the causes of discontinuation therapy were analyzed. Results We identified 338 RA patients, 162 treated with RTX and 176 with RTX–MTX. After 52 and 104 weeks of therapy the disease activity score in 28 joints and the H…
Hypocomplementemia in children with juvenile idiopatic arthritis treated with tocilizumab: personal records
2017
The relieve of a reduction in complement levels was recently reported in adults with Rheumatoid Arthritis treated with tocilizumab (TCZ). However, there are no data in children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) treated with TCZ.
Susceptibility to collagen-induced arthritis is modulated by TGFβ responsiveness of T cells
2004
The objective of our study was to determine the regulatory effects that endogenous transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) exerts on T cells in the pathogenesis of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). CIA was induced in transgenic mice expressing a dominant negative TGFbeta type II receptor in T cells under the control of the human CD2 promoter. Clinical and histological arthritis scores were determined and experiments on disease induction and the healing phase of disease were performed. The proliferation and cytokine production of draining lymph node cells in vitro were analyzed. Transgenic mice were more susceptible to induction of CIA. The overall incidence was higher in transgenic mice t…
Endothelial progenitor cells: Are they displaying a function in autoimmune disorders?
2016
Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPCs) are bone marrow derived cells able to differentiate in mature endothelial cells (EC) contributing to the generation of new vessels, connecting to fibronectin, and forming colonies and/or colony forming units. Since circulating EPCs can be actively considered part of endothelial damage in several cardiovascular diseases and autoimmune disorders the possibility to have a measure for endothelium damage should be considered of interest to predict the patient out-come. At the same time the EPCs proliferative and regenerative role could be considered for therapeutic applications. Studies have been performed to elucidate the role of EPCs in Systemic Sclerosis an…
Association Study of Genetic Variants in the 14q11 - 14q13 Proteasomal Genes Cluster with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) in Latvian Population
2009
Association Study of Genetic Variants in the 14q11 - 14q13 Proteasomal Genes Cluster with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) in Latvian Population The possible role of proteasomes in the development of autoimmune diseases was hypothesised after discovery of the involvement of proteasomal LMP2 and LMP7 subunits in antigene processing. The objective of this study was to determine the association between allelic variants of the genes encoding proteasomal proteins PSME1, PSME2 and PSMA6 and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in the Latvian population. One Indel G-4543 CA-4544 →GA and four SNPs related to the PSMA6 gene (A-2486 →G and C-1910 →T, upstream promoter, C-110 →A of promoter, and C-8…
Genomewide hypomethylation and PTHrP gene hypermethylation as a model for the prediction of cancer risk in rheumatoid arthritis
2007
We have previously shown that PTHrP(38-94)-amide restrains growth and invasion "in vitro", causes striking toxicity and accelerates death of some breast cancer cell lines, the most responsive being MDA-MB231 whose tumorigenesis was also attenuated "in vivo". PTHrP(38-94)-amide contains the domain implicated in the nuclear import of PTHrP. Although the nucleus was identified as a destination for mid-region PTHrP, evidence for direct DNA-binding capability is lacking to date. Here, we examined the localization of PTHrP(38-94)-amide within MDA-MB231 cells and within metaphase spread preparations and characterized its DNA-binding properties, employing a combination of immunocytochemical, cytoge…
Synovial giant cells in rheumatoid arthritis: Expression of cystatin C, but not of cathepsin B
2000
This study was designed to investigate the expression of the matrix degrading proteinase cathepsin B and its endogenous inhibitor cystatin C in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with special regard to multinucleated synovial giant cells (SGC). We applied an immunohistochemical double-labeling technique. SGC strongly expressed cystatin C and CD68, but were negative for cathepsin B. This staining pattern occurred in osteoclasts as well. Our findings support the idea that in RA matrix destruction by cathepsin B is not mediated by SGC or osteoclasts, but by mononuclear synoviocytes.
Human Memory Th17 Cell Populations Change Into Anti-inflammatory Cells With Regulatory Capacity Upon Exposure to Active Vitamin D
2019
Autoimmune diseases are characterized by an aberrantly activated immune system, resulting in tissue damage and functional disability in patients. An important therapeutic goal is to restore the deregulated immunological balance between pro- A nd anti-inflammatory T cells. This imbalance is illustrated by elevated levels and activity of memory Th17 cell populations, such as Th17, Th1/Th17, and Th17.1 cells, in various autoimmune diseases. These cells are characterized by the chemokine receptor CCR6, RORC expression and production of IL-17A, IFNγ, and TNFα. Using rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as a model of autoimmune disease, we here demonstrate that pro-inflammatory memory CCR6+ Th cells can swi…