Search results for "SKIN"

A STAT4 variant increases liver fibrosis risk in Caucasian patients with chronic hepatitis B

2018

Background Host genetic modifiers of the natural history of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remain poorly understood. Recently, a genome-wide association study (GWAS)-identified polymorphism in the STAT4 gene that contributes to the risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was shown to be associated with the full spectrum of hepatitis B virus (HBV) outcomes in Asian patients. However, the functional mechanisms for this effect are unknown and the role of the variant in modulating HBV disease in Caucasians has not been investigated. Aims To determine whether STAT4 genetic variation is associated with liver injury in Caucasian patients with CHB and to investigate potential mechanisms mediating this e…

Role of Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) in Autoimmune Diseases

2018

Since the discovery of HLA 60 years ago, it has contributed to the understanding of the immune system as well as of the pathogenesis of several diseases. Aside from its essential role in determining donor-recipient immune compatibility in organ transplantation, HLA genotyping is meanwhile performed routinely as part of the diagnostic work-up of certain autoimmune diseases. Considering the ability of HLA to influence thymic selection as well as peripheral anergy of T cells, its role in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity is understandable. The aim of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the role and current clinical relevance of HLA-B27 in spondyloarthritis and HLA-B51 in Behçet's disea…

2016

Objectives Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 (B27) is the strongest genetic factor associated with development of Ankylosing Spondylitis and other spondyloarthropathies (SpA), yet the role it plays in disease pathogenesis remains unclear. We investigated the expression of potentially pathogenic non-conventional heavy chain forms (NC) of B27 in synovial and intestinal tissues obtained from SpA patients. We also determined the presence of NC-B27 in joints, lymphoid and gastrointestinal tissue from B27 transgenic (TG1) rats with M.tuberculosis-induced SpA.

Reseña de Ana de Miguel, Neoliberalismo sexual. El mito de la libre elección

2017

Reseña de Ana de Miguel, "Neoliberalismo sexual. El mito de la libre elección". Review of Ana de Miguel, "Neoliberalismo sexual. El mito de la libre elección".

Comparison of the acute effects of anti-TNF-alpha drugs on a uveitis experimental model.

2010

To compare histopathological and biochemical effects of the anti-TNF-alpha drugs adalimumab and infliximab in a uveitis experimental model.Histopathological evaluation was performed 24 h after endotoxin (200 microg into the footpad) and drug administration, as well as biochemical analysis of oxidative stress-related markers in the aqueous humor.Severe inflammation was found in rat anterior chamber of the eye 24 h after endotoxin. Only infliximab administration partially prevented the endotoxin-induced disruption of the blood-aqueous barrier, as well as the increase in Rantes and MCP-1 concentration in aqueous humor. Both drugs ameliorated the histopathological score after endotoxin. Biochem…

Adalimumab in active ulcerative colitis: A “real-life” observational study

2013

Abstract Background and aims The effectiveness of adalimumab in the treatment of ulcerative colitis is under debate. Although controlled trials have shown that adalimumab is significantly better than placebo, the absolute clinical benefit is modest. We report data on the effectiveness of adalimumab in a cohort of ulcerative colitis patients treated in 22 Italian centres. Methods All patients with active disease treated with adalimumab were retrospectively reviewed. Co-primary endpoints were clinical remission at weeks 4, 12, 24 and 54. Secondary endpoints were sustained clinical remission, steroid discontinuation, endoscopic remission and need for colectomy. Results Eighty-eight patients we…

Analysis of the impact of sex and age on the variation in the prevalence of antinuclear autoantibodies in Polish population: a nationwide observation…

2022

AbstractThe detection of antinuclear autoantibody (ANA) is dependent on many factors and varies between the populations. The aim of the study was first to assess the prevalence of ANA in the Polish adult population depending on age, sex and the cutoff threshold used for the results obtained. Second, we estimated the occurrence of individual types of ANA-staining patterns. We tested 1731 patient samples using commercially available IIFA using two cutoff thresholds of 1:100 and 1:160. We found ANA in 260 participants (15.0%), but the percentage of positive results strongly depended on the cutoff level. For a cutoff threshold 1:100, the positive population was 19.5% and for the 1:160 cutoff th…

HLA-B27-restricted CD8 T cells derived from synovial fluids of patients with reactive arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.

1993

Ankylosing spondylitis and seronegative spondylarthropathies such as Reiter's syndrome and reactive arthritis are strongly associated with HLA-B27. However, the mechanisms by which HLA-B27 is involved in disease susceptibility and pathogenesis are unknown. If the disease association is a consequence of HLA-B27's physiological function in antigen presentation, the disease should be mediated by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that recognise bacterial or self peptides presented by HLA-B27. Proof of this arthritogenic peptide model requires isolation of B27-restricted CD8 T cells from arthritic joints of patients with spondylarthropathies. An important question is whether "arthritogenic" bacteri…

HLA-B27-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses to arthritogenic enterobacteria or self-antigens are dominated by closely related TCRBV gene segm…

1996

Identification of the T-cell receptors (TCR) used by synovial cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) of patients with reactive arthritis (ReA) may be crucial to better understanding the pathogenetic mechanism underlying the HLA-B27 association of spondylarthropathies. The authors, therefore, sequenced 25 TCRB chains from HLA-B27-restricted CD8+ CTL clones and two clonal lines specific for self- or Yersinia enterocolitica antigen isolated from synovial fluids of 3 HLA-B27+ patients with ReA and PBL of one healthy HLA-B27+ individual. Fourteen non-HLA-B27-restricted CTL served as controls. Both autoreactive and Y. enterocolitica specific HLA-B27-restricted CTL used a highly limited set of VB genes wit…

Effectiveness of adalimumab for ulcerative colitis: A multicentre, retrospective study of clinical practice in Italy.

2022

Abstract Background Adalimumab is used to treat ulcerative colitis, but additional effectiveness and safety data are needed. Patients and methods This retrospective study considered adults with ulcerative colitis treated with adalimumab at 19 hospitals. Clinical data were collected from the start of treatment, after 2, 6 and 12 months, and at the last visit. Outcome measures of effectiveness were treatment duration, reasons for discontinuation and colectomy. Results We studied 381 patients treated with adalimumab for a median of 12.1 months. Disease activity at the start of treatment was moderate to severe in 262 cases (68.8%) and endoscopic activity was moderate to severe in 339 cases (89.…