scholarly journals Genetic Variation in CCL18 Gene Influences CCL18 Expression and Correlates with Survival in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: Part A

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivo A. Wiertz ◽  
Sofia A. Moll ◽  
Benjamin Seeliger ◽  
Nicole P. Barlo ◽  
Joanne J. van der Vis ◽  
...  

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive fibrotic disease, characterized by fibroblast proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition. CC-chemokine ligand 18 (CCL18) upregulates the production of collagen by lung fibroblasts and is associated with mortality. This study was designed to evaluate the influence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CCL18 gene on CCL18 expression and survival in IPF. Serum CCL18 levels and four SNPs in the CCL18 gene were analyzed in 77 Dutch IPF patients and 349 healthy controls (HCs). CCL18 mRNA expression was analyzed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 18 healthy subjects. Survival analysis was conducted, dependent on CCL18-levels and -genotypes and validated in two German IPF cohorts (Part B). IPF patients demonstrated significantly higher serum CCL18 levels than the healthy controls (p < 0.001). Both in IPF patients and HCs, serum CCL18 levels were influenced by rs2015086 C > T genotype, with the highest CCL18-levels with the presence of the C-allele. Constitutive CCL18 mRNA-expression in PBMCs was significantly increased with the C-allele and correlated with serum CCL18-levels. In IPF, high serum levels correlated with decreased survival (p = 0.02). Survival was worse with the CT-genotype compared to the TT genotype (p = 0.01). Concluding, genetic variability in the CCL18-gene accounts for differences in CCL18 mRNA-expression and serum-levels and influences survival in IPF.

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Hu ◽  
Xiaoqian Shang ◽  
Liang Wang ◽  
Jiahui Fan ◽  
Yue Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Aim Brucellar spondylitis (BS) is one of the most serious complications of brucellosis. CXCR3 is closely related to the severity of disease infection. This research aimed to study the degree of BS inflammatory damage through analyzing the expression levels of CXCR3 and its ligands (CXCL9 and CXCL10) in patients with BS. Methods A total of 29 BS patients and 15 healthy controls were enrolled. Real-Time PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of IFN-γ, CXCR3, CXCL9 and CXCL10 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of BS patients and healthy controls. Hematoxylin-Eosin staining was used to show the pathological changes in BS lesion tissues. Immunohistochemistry staining was used to show the protein expression levels of Brucella-Ab, IFN-γ, CXCR3, CXCL9 and CXCL10 in BS lesion tissues. At the same time, ELISA was used to detect the serum levels of IFN-γ, CXCL9 CXCL10 and autoantibodies against CXCR3 in patients with BS. Results In lesion tissue of BS patients, it showed necrosis of cartilage, acute or chronic inflammatory infiltration. Brucella-Ab protein was abundantly expressed in close lesion tissue. And the protein expression levels of IFN-γ, CXCR3 and CXCL10 were highly expressed in close lesion tissue and serum of BS patients. At the same time, the mRNA expression levels of IFN-γ, CXCR3 and CXCL10 in PBMCs of BS patients were significantly higher than those in controls. Conclusion In our research, the expression levels of IFN-γ, CXCR3 and its ligands were significantly higher than those in controls. It suggested that high expression levels of IFN-γ, CXCR3 and its ligands indicated a serious inflammatory damage in patients with BS.


2011 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 1115-1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Codullo ◽  
Helen M Baldwin ◽  
Mark D Singh ◽  
Alasdair R Fraser ◽  
Catherine Wilson ◽  
...  

ObjectivesSystemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterised by vasculopathy, an aberrantly activated immune system and excessive extracellular matrix deposition. Inflammatory chemokines control migration of cells to sites of tissue damage; their removal from inflamed sites is essential for resolution of the inflammatory response. The atypical chemokine receptor D6 has a critical role in this physiological balance. To explore potential deregulation of this system in SSc, inflammatory chemokine and D6 expression were compared with that in healthy controls (HC).MethodsSerum levels of inflammatory mediators were assessed by luminex analysis. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were used in molecular and immunocytochemical analysis. Platelet-rich plasma was collected and assessed by western blotting for D6 expression levels. Sex-matched HC were used for comparison.Results72 patients with SSc and 30 HC were enrolled in the study. The chemokines MCP-1/CCL2, MIP-1α/CCL3, MIP-1β/CCL4 and IL-8/CXCL8 were significantly increased in patients with SSc, regardless of disease subtype and phase. Quantitative PCR analysis revealed a significant 10-fold upregulation of D6 transcripts in patients with SSc compared with controls, and this was paralleled by increased D6 protein expression in the PBMCs of patients with SSc. Platelet lysates also showed strong D6 expression in patients with SSc but not in controls. Importantly, high levels of D6 expression correlated with reduced levels of its ligands in serum.ConclusionsInflammatory chemokines and the regulatory receptor D6 are significantly upregulated in SSc and high D6 levels are associated with lower systemic chemokine levels, indicating that some patients control systemic chemokine levels using D6. These results suggest that chemokines may represent a therapeutic target in SSc.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Sallustio ◽  
Claudia Curci ◽  
Vincenzo Di Leo ◽  
Anna Gallone ◽  
Francesco Pesce ◽  
...  

IgA Nephropathy (IgAN) is a primary glomerulonephritis problem worldwide that develops mainly in the 2nd and 3rd decade of life and reaches end-stage kidney disease after 20 years from the biopsy-proven diagnosis, implying a great socio-economic burden. IgAN may occur in a sporadic or familial form. Studies on familial IgAN have shown that 66% of asymptomatic relatives carry immunological defects such as high IgA serum levels, abnormal spontaneous in vitro production of IgA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), high serum levels of aberrantly glycosylated IgA1, and an altered PBMC cytokine production profile. Recent findings led us to focus our attention on a new perspective to study the pathogenesis of this disease, and new studies showed the involvement of factors driven by environment, lifestyle or diet that could affect the disease. In this review, we describe the results of studies carried out in IgAN patients derived from genomic and epigenomic studies. Moreover, we discuss the role of the microbiome in the disease. Finally, we suggest a new vision to consider IgA Nephropathy as a disease that is not disconnected from the environment in which we live but influenced, in addition to the genetic background, also by other environmental and behavioral factors that could be useful for developing precision nephrology and personalized therapy.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanchun Du ◽  
Lin Deng ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Lu Gan ◽  
Yantang Wang ◽  
...  

Background. PERP, p53 apoptosis effector related to PMP-22, is a p53-dependent apoptosis in diverse cell types and has cell type-specific roles in p53-mediated apoptosis. However, its role in PBMCs of RA patients has remained largely unclear.Objectives. The aim of this study was to detect the expression levels of PERP on PBMCs of RA patients and healthy controls and analyze the role of PERP in the pathogenesis of RA.Methods. The mRNA expression levels of PERP and IL-17 were detected by real-time PCR in PBMCs from patients with RA (n=40) and healthy controls (n=40). The correlations of PERP expression levels to IL-17 transcripts and disease activity parameters were analyzed.Results. The PERP and IL-17 expression levels in the PBMCs were significantly decreased and increased in comparison of which in healthy controls. The mRNA expression levels of PERP in PBMCs from patients with RA were negatively correlated with IL-17 and disease activity parameters DAS28, RF, CRP, and ESR rather than Anti-CCP and ANA.Conclusions. These results demonstrated that PERP might be involved in the pathogenesis and a potential therapeutic target of RA by regulating the expression of IL-17.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kosuke Hamai ◽  
Hiroshi Iwamoto ◽  
Nobuhisa Ishikawa ◽  
Yasushi Horimasu ◽  
Takeshi Masuda ◽  
...  

Background.Recent reports indicate that matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) and CC-chemokine ligand 18 (CCL18) are potential disease markers of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The objective of this study was to perform direct comparisons of these two biomarkers with three well-investigated serum markers of IPF, Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6), surfactant protein-A (SP-A), and SP-D.Methods.The serum levels of MMP-7, CCL18, KL-6, SP-A, and SP-D were evaluated in 65 patients with IPF, 31 patients with bacterial pneumonia, and 101 healthy controls. The prognostic performance of these five biomarkers was evaluated in patients with IPF.Results.The serum levels of MMP-7, KL-6, and SP-D in patients with IPF were significantly elevated compared to those in patients with bacterial pneumonia and in the healthy controls. Multivariate survival analysis showed that serum MMP-7 and KL-6 levels were independent predictors in IPF patients. Moreover, elevated levels of both KL-6 and MMP-7 were associated with poorer survival rates in IPF patients, and the combination of both markers provided the best risk discrimination using the C statistic.Conclusions.The present results indicated that MMP-7 and KL-6 were promising prognostic markers of IPF, and the combination of the two markers might improve survival prediction in patients with IPF.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 659-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongping Liu ◽  
Shuo Wang ◽  
Qingling Guo ◽  
Yongze Li ◽  
Jing Qin ◽  
...  

Objective Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is characterized by elevated specific auto-antibodies, including TgAb and TPOAb. Increasing evidence has demonstrated the essential role of Th17 cells in HT. However, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Semaphorin 5A (Sema 5A) is involved in several autoimmune diseases through the regulation of immune cells. The aim of the present study was to explore the role of Sema 5A in HT. Methods We measured serum Sema 5A levels in HT (n = 92) and healthy controls (n = 111) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RNA levels of Sema 5A and their receptors (plexin-A1 and plexin-B3), as well as several cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-17), were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 23 patients with HT and 31 controls. In addition, we investigated the relationship between serum Sema 5A and HT. Results Serum Sema 5A in HT increased significantly compared with healthy controls (P < 0.001). Moreover, serum Sema 5A levels were positively correlated with TgAb (r = 0.511, P < 0.001), TPOAb (r = 0.423, P < 0.001), TSH (r = 0.349, P < 0.001) and IL-17 mRNA expression (r = 0.442, P < 0.001). Increased Sema 5A RNA expression was observed (P = 0.041) in HT compared with controls. In receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, serum Sema 5A predicted HT with a sensitivity of 79.35% and specificity of 96.40%, and the area under the curve of the ROC curve was 0.836 (95% CI: 0.778–0.884, P < 0.001). Conclusions These data demonstrated elevated serum Sema 5A in HT patients for the first time. Serum Sema 5A levels were correlated with thyroid auto-antibodies and IL-17 mRNA expression. Sema 5A may be involved in immune response of HT patients.


Rheumatology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 371-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desirée Luis-Rodríguez ◽  
Javier Donate-Correa ◽  
Ernesto Martín-Núñez ◽  
Carla Ferri ◽  
Víctor G Tagua ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Asymptomatic hyperuricaemia (AHU) is associated with inflammatory disorders, including cardiovascular disease. Uric acid (UA) lowering therapies may reduce the risk of appearance or the progression of these comorbidities. In this work, we investigated the relationship between serum UA levels and inflammation in subjects with AHU. Methods Serum levels of high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP), TNF-α and IL-6, and mRNA expression of TNFa and IL6 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were measured in individuals with AHU and without comorbid conditions and in a control group with similar characteristics and normal serum UA levels. Additionally, we determined the variations in the inflammatory profile in a subgroup of subjects after 6 months of treatment with allopurinol. Results Subjects at higher tertiles of serum UA presented higher levels of hsCRP and increased serum and mRNA expression levels of both cytokines (P &lt; 0.001). UA levels constituted an independent predictor of increased levels of inflammatory parameters in multiple regression models (P &lt; 0.001) and a risk factor for the presence of a subclinical inflammation in multivariate logistic regression (P &lt; 0.001). Allopurinol reduced UA and serum and mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines (P &lt; 0.001). There was a significant correlation between the variations in serum UA and the variations in serum TNF-α (P &lt; 0.01) and IL-6 (P &lt; 0.05), and mRNA expression of these cytokines (P &lt; 0.05). This association remained significant and independent (P &lt; 0.01). Conclusion In subjects with AHU, serum UA may be an inductor of subclinical inflammation. Therapeutic reduction of serum UA was associated with a modulation of the inflammatory profile.


PPAR Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Véronique Ferret-Sena ◽  
Alexandra Maia e Silva ◽  
Armando Sena ◽  
Inês Cavaleiro ◽  
José Vale ◽  
...  

Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors (PPAR) are transcription factors suggested to be involved in inflammatory lesions of autoimmune encephalomyelitis and multiple sclerosis (MS). Our objective was to assess whether Natalizumab (NTZ) therapy is associated with alterations of PPAR expression in MS patients. We analyzed gene expression of PPAR in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) as well as blood inflammatory markers in women with MS previously medicated with first-line immunomodulators (baseline) and after NTZ therapy. No differences in PPARα, PPARβ/δ, PPARγ, and CD36 mRNA expression were found in PBMC between patients under baseline and healthy controls. At three months, NTZ increased PPARβ/δmRNA (p=0.009) in comparison to baseline, while mRNA expression of PPARγand CD36 (a well-known PPAR target gene) was lower in comparison to healthy controls (p=0.026andp=0.028, resp.). Although these trends of alterations remain after six months of therapy, the results were not statistically significant. Osteopontin levels were elevated in patients (p=0.002) and did not change during the follow-up period of NTZ treatment. These results suggest that PPAR-mediated processes may contribute to the mechanisms of action of NTZ therapy.


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