Gene expression profiling in murine autoimmune arthritis during the initiation and progression of joint inflammation

We present here an extensive study of differential gene expression in the initiation, acute and chronic phases of murine autoimmune arthritis with the use of high-density oligonucleotide arrays interrogating the entire mouse genome. Arthritis was induced in severe combined immunodeficient mice by using adoptive transfer of lymphocytes from proteoglycan-immunized arthritic BALB/c mice. In this unique system only proteoglycan-specific lymphocytes are transferred from arthritic mice into syngeneic immunodeficient recipients that lack adaptive immunity but have intact innate immunity on an identical (BALB/c) genetic background. Differential gene expression in response to donor lymphocytes that migrated into the joint can therefore be monitored in a precisely timed manner, even before the onset of inflammation. The initiation phase of adoptively transferred disease (several days before the onset of joint swelling) was characterized by differential expression of 37 genes, mostly related to chemokines, interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α signaling, and T cell functions. These were designated early arthritis 'signature' genes because they could distinguish between the naive and the pre-arthritic state. Acute joint inflammation was characterized by at least twofold overexpression of 256 genes and the downregulation of 21 genes, whereas in chronic arthritis a total of 418 genes with an equal proportion of upregulated and downregulated transcripts were expressed differentially. Hierarchical clustering and functional classification of inflammation-related and arthritis-related genes indicated that the most common biological activities were represented by genes encoding interleukins, chemokine receptors and ligands, and by those involved in antigen recognition and processing

Proteoglycan Aggrecan Conducting T Cell Activation and Apoptosis in a Murine Model of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease and its targeting of the joints indicates the presence of a candidate autoantigen(s) in synovial joints. Patients with RA show immune responses in their peripheral blood to proteoglycan (PG) aggrecan. One of the most relevant animal models of RA appears to be proteoglycan-induced arthritis (PGIA), and CD4+ T cells seem to play a crucial role in the initiation of the disease. In this review, the role of various T cell epitopes of aggrecan in the induction of autoreactive T cell activation and arthritis is discussed. We pay special attention to two critically important arthritogenic epitopes, 5/4E8 and P135H, found in the G1 and G3 domains of PG aggrecan, respectively, in the induction of autoimmune arthritis. Finally, results obtained with the recently developed PG-specific TCR transgenic mice system showed that altered T cell apoptosis, the balance of activation, and apoptosis of autoreactive T cells are critical factors in the development of autoimmunity

Szisztémás autoimmun betegségek pulmonális érintettségének klinikai és laboratóriumi vizsgálata = Clinical and laboratory investigation of the pulmonary manifestation of systemic autoimmune diseases

Systemás sclerosis (SSc) tüdőérintettsége alapvető hatású a betegség kimenetelére. Szérumban is mérhető anyagok - mint pl. a KL-6 - jelentőségét vizsgáltuk a PF-ra nézve. A KL-6 PF-ra vonatkoztatott szenzitivitása emelkedő értéket mutatott a PF súlyosságának fokozódásával. Sok olyan beteg is volt, akinél a PF ellenére normál KL-6 szintet mértünk, azaz a szérummarkerek nem helyettesítik a konvencionális módszereket. Prospektív vizsgálatunk elején mért KL-6 szintek szignifikánsan magasabbak voltak azokban, akik később elhunytak, mint akik életben maradtak. A követés során mért KL-6 változás nem jelezte a PF súlyosságában bekövetkezett változásokat. A módosított Rodnan-féle bőrpontszámot tartják a legalkalmazhatóbb vizsgálati módszernek a bőrérintettség vizsgálatára. Alternatív módszer kifejlesztése fontos. Az általunk kialakított önkitöltős betegkérdőív validálhatóan alkalmasnak bizonyult a bőrfolyamat megítélésére. Az ún. European Scleroderma Study Group aktivitási index kellően jó validitásúnak mutatkozott vizsgálatunkban, azonban nem tükrözte megfelelően a tüdőérintettség állapotát. Egy új 12 pontos aktivitási indexet alakítottunk ki (a FVC/DLCO, DLCO-változás, bőrfekély-változás, a HAQ-DI és az új önkitöltős bőrpontszám hozzáadásával). Az új index szorosabb összefüggést mutatott a tüdőfolyamattal, mint az eredeti. Különböző biomarkerek, mint pl. a KL-6 hozzáadása az új indexhez azonban nem javította az index használhatóságát. | Lung involvement plays an important role in the outcome of systemic sclerosis (SSc). We investigated the notability of distinct serum markers, such as KL-6 in characterization of lung involvement. The sensitivity of KL-6 for pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is increased with the severity of PF. Significant number of patients with PF had normal level of these markers; therefore we conclude that the use of these markers can not replace the conventional techniques. In our prospective study, we measured significantly higher initial serum levels of KL-6 in patients who died than in survivors. However, any change of serum level of KL-6 during the follow up not predicts the alteration of severity of PF. The modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) is considered the most appropriate technique for measuring skin involvement. There is a need for an alternative method. We established and validated a patient self assessment questionnaire for the evaluation of skin thickening in SSc. The validity of the European Scleroderma Study Group (EScSG) activity index is good, though the lung-related disease activity may not be sufficiently represented. We constructed a 12 point activity index (by adding the FVC/DLCO, change in DLCO, change in the ulcer scores, HAQ-DI and our new patient reported skin score), which showed closer correlation with lung involvement. Biomarkers - including KL-6 - were related to both the EScSG and the 12 point index, though they did not improve the total variance of the model