Search results for "Autoimmune"
showing 10 items of 648 documents
Primary Microcephaly with Novel Variant of MCPH1 Gene in Twins: Both Manifesting in Childhood at the Same Time with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
2020
AbstractThis study is a clinical report on twin females affected by primary microcephaly who displayed at molecular analysis of heterozygous novel MCPH1 variant. The twins at the age of 10 years developed, in coincidental time, a diagnosis of autoimmune juvenile thyroiditis. The main clinical features presented by the twins consisted of primary microcephaly with occipitofrontal circumference measuring −2 or −3 standard deviation, facial dysmorphism, typical nonsyndromic microcephaly, and mild intellectual disability. Molecular analysis of the major genes involved in primary microcephaly was performed and the following result was found in the twins: MCPH1; chr8.6357416; c.2180 C > T (rs 1…
The role of NFATc2 in chronic autoimmune neuroinflammation
2014
Dimethyl fumarate (DMF), a fumaric acid ester with potential immunomodulatory and neuroprotective effect, was recently approved as treatment for relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). DMF ameliorates the clinical course of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the murine model of MS, where it exerts a neuroprotective action, reducing demyelination and axonal loss. We hypothesized that these effects are mediated, at least in part, through its action on microglia. We used a microglial cell line (N9) activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to analyze the effect of monomethyl fumarate (MMF), a bioactive metabolite of DMF, in vitro. We show that MMF reverts the molecular phenoty…
Tyrphostin AG126 exerts neuroprotection in CNS inflammation by a dual mechanism
2015
The putative protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitor tyrphostin AG126 has proven beneficial in various models of inflammatory disease. Yet molecular targets and cellular mechanisms remained enigmatic. We demonstrate here that AG126 treatment has beneficial effects in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model for multiple sclerosis. AG126 alleviates the clinical symptoms, diminishes encephalitogenic Th17 differentiation, reduces inflammatory CNS infiltration as well as microglia activation and attenuates myelin damage. We show that AG126 directly inhibits Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK), a PTK associated with B cell receptor and Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling. However, BTK …
A bioinformatical approach suggests the function of the autoimmune hepatitis target antigen soluble liver antigen/liver pancreas
2001
Antibodies to a soluble liver antigen/liver pancreas (SLA/LP) appear to be highly specific for the diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis. The SLA/LP target antigen was recently identified as a hitherto unknown gene encoding 474 amino acid residues. The function of this antigen remains unclear, because it does not share sequence homology with proteins of known function stored in any of the publicly accessible databases. Therefore we used a new theoretical method called fold recognition and could show that the SLA/LP sequence is compatible with the architecture of the superfamily of pyridoxal phosphate (PLP; vitamin B6)-dependent transferases. Its function is likely to be that of a serine hydroxy…
Gain-of-function mutations in IFIH1 cause a spectrum of human disease phenotypes associated with upregulated type I interferon signaling.
2014
The type I interferon system is integral to human antiviral immunity. However, inappropriate stimulation or defective negative regulation of this system can lead to inflammatory disease. We sought to determine the molecular basis of genetically uncharacterized cases of the type I interferonopathy Aicardi-Goutières syndrome, and of other patients with undefined neurological and immunological phenotypes also demonstrating an upregulated type I interferon response. We found that heterozygous mutations in the cytosolic double-stranded RNA receptor gene IFIH1 (MDA5) cause a spectrum of neuro-immunological features consistently associated with an enhanced interferon state. Cellular and biochemica…
Acquired C1 inhibitor (C1-INH) deficiency type II. Replacement therapy with C1-INH and analysis of patients' C1-INH and anti-C1-INH autoantibodies
1989
Abstract The response of two patients with autoantibody-mediated C1-inhibitor (C1-INH) deficiency to replacement therapy with C1-INH was studied over a period of 3 d. In patient 1 an acute attack of angioedema was successfully managed by infusion of 1,000 U of C1-INH concentrate. C1-INH function returned to normal levels within 30 min, while CH50 and C4 peaked after 6-7 h and C1 hemolytic activity reached 50-60% of normal after 3 d. Immediately after the injection an increase in C1-INH-anti-C1-INH complexes was observed. Based on NH2-terminal sequence analysis of the patients' Mr 96,000 C1-INH, it is concluded that this fragment is generated after cleavage of C1-INH in its active site by on…
Unraveling the T-B tangle in anti-CD20 multiple sclerosis therapy.
2019
Significance Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. CD8+ T cells have been strongly implicated in MS pathogenesis, but it is unclear whether myelin is a CD8+ T cell autoantigenic target in MS. This study demonstrated that while myelin-specific CD8+ T cells are present at similar frequencies in untreated MS patients and healthy subjects, the proportion of memory and CD20-expressing myelin-specific CD8+ T cells was increased in MS patients, suggesting prior antigen encounter. This activated phenotype was reversible as the memory and CD20-expressing populations of certain myelin-specific CD8+ T cells were reduced following anti-CD20 trea…
Multiple Sclerosis: Focus on Extracellular and Artificial Vesicles, Nanoparticles as Potential Therapeutic Approaches
2021
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the Central Nervous System, characterized by an inflammatory process leading to the destruction of myelin with neuronal death and neurodegeneration. In MS, lymphocytes cross the blood-brain barrier, creating inflammatory demyelinated plaques located primarily in the white matter. MS potential treatments involve various mechanisms of action on immune cells, immunosuppression, inhibition of the passage through the blood-brain barrier, and immunotolerance. Bio-nanotechnology represents a promising approach to improve the treatment of autoimmune diseases by its ability to affect the immune responses. The use of nanotechnology has been actively…
Role of apoptosis in autoimmunity.
2004
Autoimmune diseases are characterized by the activity of autoreactive lymphocytes that produce antibodies targeting self tissue or organ for destruction. Although the pathogenesis of these diseases is poorly understood, during the past two decades basic research has indicated apoptosis as the pivotal molecular mechanism leading to autoimmunity. Recently cytokines have been invoked in the regulation of the apoptosis-related factors and death receptors in autoimmune target destruction. These research advances have contributed to the identification of mechanisms controlling autoimmunity for defining novel therapeutic strategies.
Modeling a complex disease: Multiple sclerosis—Update 2020
2021
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) with an unknown etiology. Thereby, MS is not a uniform disease but rather represents a spectrum of disorders, where each aspect needs to be modeled with specific requirements-for a systematic overview see our previous issue of this review (Kurschus, Wortge, & Waisman, 2011). However, there is broad consensus about the critical involvement of the immune system in the disease pathogenesis. To better understand how the immune system contributes to CNS autoimmunity, the model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) was developed. EAE can be induced in susceptible animals in many different wa…