Clinical and experimental immunology
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Clin. Exp. Immunol. · Jul 2013
Comparative StudyAberrant expression of microRNAs in T cells from patients with ankylosing spondylitis contributes to the immunopathogenesis.
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disorder characterized by dysregulated T cells. We hypothesized that the aberrant expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in AS T cells involved in the pathogenesis of AS. The expression profile of 270 miRNAs in T cells from five AS patients and five healthy controls were analysed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). ⋯ In contrast, the decreased expression of let-7i suppressed IFN-γ production by anti-CD3(+) anti-CD28(+) LPS-stimulated AS T cells. In conclusion, we found that miR-16, miR-221 and let-7i were over-expressed in AS T cells, but only miR-221 and let-7i were associated with BASRI of lumbar spine. In the functional studies, the increased let-7i expression facilitated the T helper type 1 (IFN-γ) immune response in T cells.
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Clin. Exp. Immunol. · Jun 2013
Expression of CXCR3 and its ligands CXCL9, -10 and -11 in paediatric opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome.
Opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome (OMS) is a neuroinflammatory disorder associated with remote cancer. To understand more clearly the role of inflammatory mediators, the concentration of CXCR3 ligands CXCL10, CXCL9 and CXCL11 was measured in 245 children with OMS and 81 paediatric controls using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and CXCR3 expression on CD4(+) T cells was measured by flow cytometry. Mean cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) CXCL10 was 2·7-fold higher in untreated OMS than controls. ⋯ CXCR3 expression on CD4(+) T cells was fivefold higher in those from CSF than blood, but was not increased in OMS or altered by conventional immunotherapy. These data suggest alternative roles for CXCL10 in OMS. Over-expression of CXCL10 was not reduced by clinical immunotherapies as a whole, indicating the need for better therapeutic approaches.
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Clin. Exp. Immunol. · Jun 2013
Ethyl pyruvate significantly inhibits tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β and high mobility group box 1 releasing and attenuates sodium taurocholate-induced severe acute pancreatitis associated with acute lung injury.
In this study, we examined the effect of ethyl pyruvate (EP) on pulmonary inflammation in rats with severe pancreatitis-associated acute lung injury (ALI). Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) was induced in rats by the retrograde injection of 5% sodium taurocholate into the pancreatic duct. Rats were randomly divided into the following experimental groups: control group, SAP group and EP-treated group. ⋯ Compared to SAP group, administration of EP prevented pancreatitis-induced increases in nuclear translocation of NF-κB in the lung. Similarly, treatment with EP significantly decreased the accumulation of neutrophils and markedly reduced the enhanced lung permeability. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that EP might play a therapeutic role in pulmonary inflammation in this SAP model.
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Clin. Exp. Immunol. · Apr 2013
Anti-citrullinated glucose-6-phosphate isomerase peptide antibodies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis are associated with HLA-DRB1 shared epitope alleles and disease activity.
To identify and characterize anti-citrullinated glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (GPI) peptide antibodies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Nine GPI arginine-bearing peptides in human GPI protein were selected and cyclic citrullinated GPI peptides (CCG-1-9) were constructed. Samples were obtained from RA (n = 208), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (n = 101), Sjögren's syndrome (SS; n = 101) and healthy controls (n = 174). ⋯ Treatment with tumour necrosis factor antagonists reduced significantly the levels of anti-CCG-2 and -7 but not of anti-CEP-1 antibodies. This is the first report documenting the presence of anti-CCG antibodies in RA. Anti-CCG-2 and -7 antibodies could be considered as markers for the diagnosis of RA and its disease activity.
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Clin. Exp. Immunol. · Jan 2013
Prothrombotic state and impaired fibrinolysis in bullous pemphigoid, the most frequent autoimmune blistering disease.
Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a potentially life-threatening autoimmune blistering disease that is burdened with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. In BP, there is an interplay between inflammation and coagulation both locally, which contributes to skin damage, and systemically, which leads to a prothrombotic state. Fibrinolysis is an important defence mechanism against thrombosis, but has only been studied locally in BP and no systemic data are available. ⋯ During remission after treatment, levels of PAI-1 antigen and PAI-1 activity decreased significantly (P = 0·008 and P = 0·006, respectively), and there was also a significant decrease in plasma levels of d-dimer (P = 0·0001) and F1+2 (P = 0·0001). Fibrinolysis is inhibited in patients with active BP, due mainly to an increase in plasma levels of PAI-1. Corticosteroids not only induce the regression of BP lesions, but also reduce the inhibition of fibrinolysis, which may contribute to decreasing thrombotic risk.