Search results for "autoimmunity"
showing 10 items of 349 documents
Differential Expression Profiles and Functional Prediction of Circular RNAs in Pediatric Dilated Cardiomyopathy
2020
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have emerged as essential regulators and biomarkers in various diseases. To assess the different expression levels of circRNAs in pediatric dilated cardiomyopathy (PDCM) and explore their biological and mechanistic significance, we used RNA microarrays to identify differentially expressed circRNAs between three children diagnosed with PDCM and three healthy age-matched volunteers. The biological function of circRNAs was assessed with a circRNA–microRNA (miRNA)–mRNA interaction network constructed from Gene Ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. Differentially expressed circRNAs were validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qR…
Mortality in COVID-19 disease patients: Correlating Association of Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) with severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (S…
2020
Highlights • In addition to ethnicity, socio-economic factors, prior vaccinations and exposure to other coronaviruses, other factors need to be considered to explain geographical and regional variations in susceptibility, severity of clinical expression of COVID-19 disease and outcomes. • Differences in peptide binding of SARS-CoV-2 variants to MHC class II, but not to MHC class I alleles frequent in individuals with African, Asian or Caucasian descent could be identified. • Single mutations in the wildtype of SARS-CoV-2, the so called B strain or L strain impact on MHC presentation • Most likely there is selective pressure from MHC class II alleles in regard to binding of the ORF8 (L84S) v…
Celiac disease and endocrine autoimmunity - the genetic link.
2018
Celiac disease is a small intestinal inflammatory disease with autoimmune features that is triggered and maintained by the ingestion of the storage proteins (gluten) of wheat, barley and rye. The prevalence of celiac disease is increased in patients with monoglandular and/or polyglandular autoimmunity and their relatives. Between 10 and 30% of patients with celiac disease are thyroid and/or type 1 diabetes antibody positive, while around 5 to 7% of patients with autoimmune thyroid disease and/or type 1 diabetes are IgA anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody positive. The close relationship between celiac disease and endocrine autoimmunity is largely explained by sharing a common genetic back…
Type 1 diabetes associated autoimmunity.
2016
Diabetes mellitus is increasing in prevalence worldwide. The economic costs are considerable given the cardiovascular complications and co-morbidities that it may entail. Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by the loss of insulin-producing pancreatic β-cells. The pathogenesis of T1D is complex and multifactorial and involves a genetic susceptibility that predisposes to abnormal immune responses in the presence of ill-defined environmental insults to the pancreatic islets. Genetic background may affect the risk for autoimmune disease and patients with T1D exhibit an increased risk of other autoimmune disorders such as autoimmune thyroid disease, Addison's dise…
Evidence That Graves' Ophthalmopathy Immunoglobulins Do Not Directly Activate IGF-1 Receptors
2018
Background: Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) pathogenesis involves thyrotropin (TSH) receptor (TSHR)-stimulating autoantibodies. Whether there are autoantibodies that directly stimulate insulin-like growth factor 1 receptors (IGF-1Rs), stimulating insulin-like growth factor receptor antibodies (IGFRAbs), remains controversial. This study attempted to determine whether there are stimulating IGFRAbs in patients with GO. Methods: Immunoglobulins (Igs) were purified from normal volunteers (NV-Igs) and patients with GO (GO-Igs). The effects of TSH, IGF-1, NV-Igs, and GO-Igs on pAKT and pERK1/2, members of pathways used by IGF-1R and TSHR, were compared in orbital fibroblasts from GO patients (GOFs) a…
The janus face of NKT cell function in autoimmunity and infectious diseases
2018
Natural killer T cells (NKT) are a subset of T lymphocytes bridging innate and adaptive immunity. These cells recognize self and microbial glycolipids bound to non-polymorphic and highly conserved CD1d molecules. Three NKT cell subsets, type I, II and NKT-like expressing different antigen receptors (TCR) were described and TCR activation promotes intracellular events leading to specific functional activities. NKT can exhibit different functions depending on the secretion of soluble molecules and the interaction with other cell types. NKT cells act as regulatory cells in the defence against infections but, on the other hand, their effector functions can be involved in the pathogenesis of sev…
The cAMP pathway as therapeutic target in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases
2016
Nucleotide signaling molecules contribute to the regulation of cellular pathways. In the immune system, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is well established as a potent regulator of innate and adaptive immune cell functions. Therapeutic strategies to interrupt or enhance cAMP generation or effects have immunoregulatory potential in autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. Here, we provide an overview of the cyclic AMP axis and its role as a regulator of immune functions and discuss the clinical and translational relevance of interventions with these processes.
Editorial: Current concepts of cellular and biological drugs to modulate regulatory T cell activity in the clinic
2016
The Editorial on the Research Topic Current Concepts of Cellular and Biological Drugs to Modulate Regulatory T Cell Activity in the Clinic Regulatory T (Treg) cells are essential for the maintenance of peripheral tolerance and prevent the development of autoimmunity and allergy. While on the one hand being indispensable for the perpetuation of tolerance to harmless antigens or self-antigens, Treg cells contribute to cancer pathogenesis and progression (1). Hence, the potential to treat a multitude of different human diseases by pharmacological modulation of Treg cells is enormous. Consequently, this T cell population is in the focus of biomedical research and development. Currently, isolate…
Epigenetic Regulation in the Pathogenesis of Sjögren Syndrome and Rheumatoid Arthritis
2019
Autoimmune rheumatic diseases, such as Sjögren syndrome (SS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), are characterized by chronic inflammation and autoimmunity, which cause joint tissue damage and destruction by triggering reduced mobility and debilitation in patients with these diseases. Initiation and maintenance of chronic inflammatory stages account for several mechanisms that involve immune cells as key players and the interaction of the immune cells with other tissues. Indeed, the overlapping of certain clinical and serologic manifestations between SS and RA may indicate that numerous immunologic-related mechanisms are involved in the physiopathology of both these diseases. It is widely accept…
IL-17 for therapy.
2017
The cytokine IL-17 is now a target for an array of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies supposed to treat a variety of inflammatory diseases. The forerunner Secukinumab, an IL-17A neutralizing antibody, is meanwhile approved as first-line treatments for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, and as second-line treatment for psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Ixekizumab and Brodalumab, both also targeting the IL-17 pathway, were also recently approved by the FDA for plaque psoriasis. Using mice overexpressing IL-17A in a tissue of choice, we showed that the ectopic expression of this cytokine in keratinocytes resulted in a spontaneous and very strong form of psoriasis-like dermatitis…