Search results for "systemic lupus"

Urinary levels of sirtuin-1 associated with disease activity in lupus nephritis.

2017

Identifying new markers of disease flares in lupus nephritis (LN) that facilitate patient stratification and prognosis is important. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyze whether urinary SIRT1 expression was altered in LN and whether SIRT1 values in urine could be valuable biomarker of disease activity. In a cohort study, urinary pellets from 40 patients diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were analyzed. Clinical measures of lupus activity were assessed. The expression of SIRT1 was quantified by quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunoblot, then compared between patients with active lupus nephritis, in remission and healthy controls. Association with lupus activi…

Spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) is a potential target for the treatment of cutaneous lupus erythematosus patients

2016

Spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) is a protein kinase involved in cell proliferation and the regulation of inflammatory pathways. Due to the increasing evidence that kinase inhibitors have potential as specific anti-inflammatory drugs, we have investigated the potential for SYK inhibition as a therapeutic target in autoimmune diseases, particularly cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE). Skin samples of patients with different CLE subtypes and appropriate controls were analysed for the expression of SYK and SYK-associated pro-inflammatory mediators via gene expression analysis and immunohistochemistry. The functional role of SYK in keratinocytes was investigated in vitro, using LE-typical pro-infla…

Guidelines for biomarkers in autoimmune rheumatic diseases - evidence based analysis

2018

Autoimmune rheumatic diseases are characterised by an abnormal immune system response, complement activation, cytokines dysregulation and inflammation. In last years, despite many progresses in managing these patients, it has been shown that clinical remission is reached in less than 50% of patients and a personalised and tailored therapeutic approach is still lacking resulting in a significant gap between guidelines and real-world practice. In this context, the need for biomarkers facilitating early diagnosis and profiling those individuals at the highest risk for a poor outcome has become of crucial interest. A biomarker generally refers to a measured characteristic which may be used as a…

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells promote systemic sclerosis with a key role for TLR8

2018

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystem life-threatening fibrosing disorder that lacks effective treatment. The link between the inflammation observed in organs such as the skin and profibrotic mechanisms is not well understood. The plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) is a key cell type mediating Toll-like receptor (TLR)-induced inflammation in autoimmune disease patients, including lupus and skin diseases with interface dermatitis. However, the role of pDCs in fibrosis is less clear. We show that pDCs infiltrate the skin of SSc patients and are chronically activated, leading to secretion of interferon-α (IFN-α) and CXCL4, which are both hallmarks of the disease. We demonstrate that the s…

IL-34–Dependent Intrarenal and Systemic Mechanisms Promote Lupus Nephritis in MRL-Faslpr Mice

2019

Background In people with SLE and in the MRL- Fas lpr lupus mouse model, macrophages and autoantibodies are central to lupus nephritis. IL-34 mediates macrophage survival and proliferation, is expressed by tubular epithelial cells (TECs), and binds to the cFMS receptor on macrophages and to a newly identified second receptor, PTPRZ. Methods To investigate whether IL-34–dependent intrarenal and systemic mechanisms promote lupus nephritis, we compared lupus nephritis and systemic illness in MRL- Fas lpr mice expressing IL-34 and IL-34 knockout (KO) MRL- Fas lpr mice. We also assessed expression of IL-34 and the cFMS and PTPRZ receptors in patients with lupus nephritis. Results Intrarenal IL-3…

International consensus: What else can we do to improve diagnosis and therapeutic strategies in patients affected by autoimmune rheumatic diseases (r…

2017

Autoimmune diseases are a complex set of diseases characterized by immune system activation and, although many progresses have been done in the last 15 years, several unmet needs in the management of these patients may be still identified. Recently, a panel of international Experts, divided in different working groups according to their clinical and scientific expertise, were asked to identify, debate and formulate a list of key unmet needs within the field of rheumatology, serving as a roadmap for research as well as support for clinicians. After a systematic review of the literature, the results and the discussions from each working group were summarised in different statements. Due to th…

SPARC regulation of PMN clearance protects from pristane-induced lupus and rheumatoid arthritis

2021

Summary The secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) is a matricellular protein with unexpected immunosuppressive function in myeloid cells. We investigated the role of SPARC in autoimmunity using the pristane-induced model of lupus that, in mice, mimics human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Sparc−/− mice developed earlier and more severe renal disease, multi-organ parenchymal damage, and arthritis than the wild-type counterpart. Sparc+/- heterozygous mice showed an intermediate phenotype suggesting Sparc gene dosage in autoimmune-related events. Mechanistically, reduced Sparc expression in neutrophils blocks their clearance by macrophages, through defective delivery of don'…

2021

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease and patients are under an increased risk for cardiovascular (CV) events and mortality. The increased CV risk for patients with SLE seems to be caused by a premature and accelerated atherosclerosis, attributable to lupus-specific risk factors (i.e., increased systemic inflammation, altered immune status), apart from traditional CV risk factors. To date, there is no established experimental model to explore the pathogenesis of this increased CV risk in SLE patients. Methods: Here we investigated whether MRL-Faslpr mice, which develop an SLE-like phenotype, may serve as a model to study lupus-mediated v…

The growing role of precision medicine for the treatment of autoimmune diseases; results of a systematic review of literature and Experts’ Consensus

2021

International audience; Autoimmune diseases (AIDs) share similar serological, clinical, and radiological findings, but, behind these common features, there are different pathogenic mechanisms, immune cells dysfunctions, and targeted organs. In this context, multiple lines of evidence suggest the application of precision medicine principles to AIDs to reduce the treatment failure. Precision medicine refers to the tailoring of therapeutic strategies to the individual characteristics of each patient, thus it could be a new approach for management of AIDS which considers individual variability in genes, environmental exposure, and lifestyle. Precision medicine would also assist physicians in ch…

AORTIC STIFFNESS IS INCREASED IN NORMOTENSIVE PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS Abstracts from the 17th National Congress of the Italian Soc…

2019

Introduction: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular (CV) events. A marker of early vascular aging (EVA) is aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) which is a measure of arterial stiffness. Aim: To evaluate aPWV and the prevalence of EVA in a group of normotensive patients with SLE and to compare these values with those obtained in age- and gender-matched control subjects. Method: Aortic PWV was measured by a validated oscillometric device (Arteriograph). EVA was identified when the age-adjusted z-score of aPWV exceeded ? 1.96 (EVA1). The aPWV z-score was calculated using the ratio ‘‘Observed PWV–Predicted PWV/SD Predicted’’ and we obt…