Search results for "connective tissue disease"
showing 10 items of 874 documents
Isolation and characterization of maerophage-derived C1q and its similarities to serum C1q
1986
Recently, we have shown that the collagen-like, Fc-recognizing subcomponent C1q of the first complement component is synthesized by human, guinea pig and mouse peritoneal macrophages. To test whether macrophages may contribute to the serum pool of C1q, C1q was purified from guinea pig serum and from guinea pig peritoneal macrophage supernatants and compared for similarities. Both molecules had a similar sedimentation rate (macrophage C1q: 11.3 S, serum C1q: 11.2 S) and showed on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under reducing conditions three identical bands with molecular weights of Mr, 29 000, Mr, 27 000 and Mr 23 000 for the A, B and C chains, respectively. Both …
Pruritus characteristics in a large Italian cohort of psoriatic patients
2019
Background: Psoriasis (Ps) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease associated with pruritus in 64–98% of patients. However, few modestly sized studies assess factors associated with psoriatic pruritus. Objective: To investigate factors associated with Ps pruritus intensity. Methods: Psoriasis patients 18 years or older seen in one of 155 centres in Italy between September 2005 and 2009 were identified from the Italian PsoCare registry. Patients without cutaneous psoriasis and those with missed information on pruritus were excluded. Results: We identified 10 802 patients, with a mean age 48.8 ± 14.3 years. Mild itch was present in 33.2% of patients, moderate in 34.4%, severe in 18.7% and ve…
Synergistic effect between amoxicillin and TLR ligands on dendritic cells from amoxicillin-delayed allergic patients.
2013
Journal Article; Amoxicillin, a low-molecular-weight compound, is able to interact with dendritic cells inducing semi-maturation in vitro. Specific antigens and TLR ligands can synergistically interact with dendritic cells (DC), leading to complete maturation and more efficient T-cell stimulation. The aim of the study was to evaluate the synergistic effect of amoxicillin and the TLR2, 4 and 7/8 agonists (PAM, LPS and R848, respectively) in TLR expression, DC maturation and specific T-cell response in patients with delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reactions to amoxicillin. Monocyte-derived DC from 15 patients with DTH to amoxicillin and 15 controls were cultured with amoxicillin in the pr…
Echo-Doppler left ventricular filling abnormalities in patients with rheumatoid arthritis without clinically evident cardiovascular disease
1996
Our investigation aimed at verifying diastolic abnormalities in rheumatoid patients, without clinically evident cardiovascular disease and other confounding complaints, by using pulsed Doppler examination of transmitral blood flow. We selected 40 patients fulfilling revised American Rheumatism Association (ARA) criteria for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis having no symptoms of cardiac disease or clinical findings of other extracardiac diseases. We also studied 40 rheumatoid-matched healthy volunteers as a control group. An echocardiographic examination was carried out on each subject. Left ventricular structural and functional measurements were obtained. Interventricular, septal thick…
MUC1 in human testis and ejaculated spermatozoa and its relationship to male fertility status.
2008
MUC1 is a cell surface glycoprotein with a previously described antiadhesive role involved in different aspects of reproductive function. We found MUC1 expressed in male germ cell line and within the ejaculated sperm, but its presence in mature sperm does not seem to be related to male fertility. This was confirmed after analysis of results from assisted reproduction techniques with oocyte donation related with MUC1, although higher MUC1 expression is related to sperm recovery after preparation.
Autologous peripheral blood stem and progenitor (CD34+) cell transplantation for systemic lupus erythematosus complicated by Evans syndrome.
1998
Immunoablation followed by allogeneic stem cell (SC) transplantation has been shown to be capable of curing a large spectrum of experimental autoimmune disorders, hereditary and/or induced. Superimposable results, albeit with some exceptions, have been obtained in human patients affected by coincidental autoimmune and blood diseases. However, both because of encouraging experimental results and of the procedure's greater safety, autologous SC are being increasingly utilized worldwide. Case reports are being collected in the registry of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)/European League against Rheumatism (EULAR) Autoimmune Disease Stem Cell Project. Among the se…
Changes in life-space mobility and quality of life among community-dwelling older people: a 2-year follow-up study
2016
Purpose Life-space mobility refers to the spatial area in which a person moves in daily life, taking into account distance, frequency and assistance needed. The aim was to examine how changes in life-space mobility are associated with changes in quality of life (QOL) over a 2-year period. Methods Community-dwelling people aged 75–90 years (n = 848) were interviewed face-to-face in their homes and followed up annually for 2 years. QOL was assessed with the short version of the World Health Organization QOL assessment (range 0–130, higher scores indicate better QOL). Life-space mobility was assessed with the Life-Space Assessment (range 0–120, higher scores indicate better life-space mobility…
The systemic lupus erythematosus IRF5 risk haplotype is associated with systemic sclerosis.
2013
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a fibrotic autoimmune disease in which the genetic component plays an important role. One of the strongest SSc association signals outside the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region corresponds to interferon (IFN) regulatory factor 5 (IRF5), a major regulator of the type I IFN pathway. In this study we aimed to evaluate whether three different haplotypic blocks within this locus, which have been shown to alter the protein function influencing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility, are involved in SSc susceptibility and clinical phenotypes. For that purpose, we genotyped one representative single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of each block (rs10488631, r…
Circulating CSF-1 Promotes Monocyte and Macrophage Phenotypes that Enhance Lupus Nephritis
2009
Macrophages mediate kidney disease and are prominent in a mouse model (MRL- Fas lpr ) of lupus nephritis. Colony stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) is the primary growth factor for macrophages, and CSF-1 deficiency protects MRL- Fas lpr mice from kidney disease and systemic illness. Whether this renoprotection derives from a reduction of macrophages and whether systemic CSF-1, as opposed to intrarenal CSF-1, promotes macrophage-dependent lupus nephritis remain unclear. Here, we found that increasing systemic CSF-1 hastened the onset of lupus nephritis in MRL- Fas lpr mice. Using mutant MRL- Fas lpr strains that express high, moderate, or no systemic CSF-1, we detected a much higher tempo of kidne…
Autoimmune skin inflammation is dependent on plasmacytoid dendritic cell activation by nucleic acids via TLR7 and TLR9
2010
Lupus-prone mice develop a chronic inflammatory response to cutaneous injury that depends on the production of type I interferon, TLR7, and TLR9.