24 research outputs found

    Hydroxychloroquine is associated with a lower risk of polyautoimmunity: data from the RELESSER Registry

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    Objectives. This article estimates the frequency of polyautoimmunity and associated factors in a large retrospective cohort of patients with SLE. Methods. RELESSER (Spanish Society of Rheumatology Lupus Registry) is a nationwide multicentre, hospital-based registry of SLE patients. This is a cross-sectional study. The main variable was polyautoimmunity, which was defined as the co-occurrence of SLE and another autoimmune disease, such as autoimmune thyroiditis, RA, scleroderma, inflammatory myopathy and MCTD. We also recorded the presence of multiple autoimmune syndrome, secondary SS, secondary APS and a family history of autoimmune disease. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate possible risk factors for polyautoimmunity. Results. Of the 3679 patients who fulfilled the criteria for SLE, 502 (13.6%) had polyautoimmunity. The most frequent types were autoimmune thyroiditis (7.9%), other systemic autoimmune diseases (6.2%), secondary SS (14.1%) and secondary APS (13.7%). Multiple autoimmune syndrome accounted for 10.2% of all cases of polyautoimmunity. A family history was recorded in 11.8%. According to the multivariate analysis, the factors associated with polyautoimmunity were female sex [odds ratio (95% CI), 1.72 (1.07, 2.72)], RP [1.63 (1.29, 2.05)], interstitial lung disease [3.35 (1.84, 6.01)], Jaccoud arthropathy [1.92 (1.40, 2.63)], anti-Ro/SSA and/or anti-La/SSB autoantibodies [2.03 (1.55, 2.67)], anti-RNP antibodies [1.48 (1.16, 1.90)], MTX [1.67 (1.26, 2.18)] and antimalarial drugs [0.50 (0.38, 0.67)]. Conclusion. Patients with SLE frequently present polyautoimmunity. We observed clinical and analytical characteristics associated with polyautoimmunity. Our finding that antimalarial drugs protected against polyautoimmunity should be verified in future studies

    Exome sequencing study in patients with multiple sclerosis reveals variants associated with disease course

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    BACKGROUND: It remains unclear whether disease course in multiple sclerosis (MS) is influenced by genetic polymorphisms. Here, we aimed to identify genetic variants associated with benign and aggressive disease courses in MS patients. METHODS: MS patients were classified into benign and aggressive phenotypes according to clinical criteria. We performed exome sequencing in a discovery cohort, which included 20 MS patients, 10 with benign and 10 with aggressive disease course, and genotyping in 2 independent validation cohorts. The first validation cohort encompassed 194 MS patients, 107 with benign and 87 with aggressive phenotypes. The second validation cohort comprised 257 patients, of whom 224 patients had benign phenotypes and 33 aggressive disease courses. Brain immunohistochemistries were performed using disease course associated genes antibodies. RESULTS: By means of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection and comparison of allele frequencies between patients with benign and aggressive phenotypes, a total of 16 SNPs were selected for validation from the exome sequencing data in the discovery cohort. Meta-analysis of genotyping results in two validation cohorts revealed two polymorphisms, rs28469012 and rs10894768, significantly associated with disease course. SNP rs28469012 is located in CPXM2 (carboxypeptidase X, M14 family, member 2) and was associated with aggressive disease course (uncorrected p value < 0.05). SNP rs10894768, which is positioned in IGSF9B (immunoglobulin superfamily member 9B) was associated with benign phenotype (uncorrected p value < 0.05). In addition, a trend for association with benign phenotype was observed for a third SNP, rs10423927, in NLRP9 (NLR family pyrin domain containing 9). Brain immunohistochemistries in chronic active lesions from MS patients revealed expression of IGSF9B in astrocytes and macrophages/microglial cells, and expression of CPXM2 and NLRP9 restricted to brain macrophages/microglia. CONCLUSIONS: Genetic variants located in CPXM2, IGSF9B, and NLRP9 have the potential to modulate disease course in MS patients and may be used as disease activity biomarkers to identify patients with divergent disease courses. Altogether, the reported results from this study support the influence of genetic factors in MS disease course and may help to better understand the complex molecular mechanisms underlying disease pathogenesis

    SMS intervention to improve attendance at the obstetric psychoprophylaxis service in a maternal and child center in Lima, 2020

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    Introducción:&nbsp;Debido a la pandemia por COVID-19, diversos establecimientos vienen ofertando sesiones virtuales de psicoprofilaxis obstétrica. Como muchos de los programas en el Perú, la baja adherencia requiere la implementación de estrategias aceptadas por las gestantes, como pueden ser los mensajes de texto (SMS) que han mostrado resultados favorables en otros campos.&nbsp;Objetivo:&nbsp;Evaluar el impacto del envío de mensajes de texto (SMS) como recordatorio de citas en la mejora de la asistencia al servicio de Psicoprofilaxis Obstétrica.&nbsp;Materiales y Métodos:&nbsp;Estudio cuantitativo, experimental verdadero con grupo control. Se evaluaron 62 gestantes que asistieron al servicio de Psicoprofilaxis Obstétrica del Centro Materno Infantil Santa Rosa durante los meses octubre a diciembre del 2020, de las cuales 31 recibieron SMS (intervención) y 31 no (control), siendo el grupo asignado de elección aleatoria. Se registró la asistencia a cada sesión. Adicionalmente, se evaluó la calidad de atención mediante SERVQUAL y SERVPERF. La probabilidad de mantener las sesiones en el tiempo se evaluó mediante Hazard Ratio (HR) y Riesgo Relativo (RR). Se contó con la aprobación de la DIRIS Lima Norte y el comité de ética de la Facultad de Medicina de la UNMSM.&nbsp;Resultados:&nbsp;El análisis mostró que haber recibido SMS reduce el riesgo de dejar de asistir a las sesiones de psicoprofilaxis obstétrica (HRa=0,574; p=0,047); así mismo, la intervención incrementa la probabilidad de asistir a al menos 5 (RR=3,25: p=0,010) y 6 sesiones del programa educativo (RR=4,50; p=0,020). Por último, la percepción de la calidad de atención fue similar en ambos grupos, aunque en ambos existió una mejora significativa de la percepción (p&lt;0,05).&nbsp;Conclusiones:&nbsp;Los SMS como recordatorio mejoran significativamente la asistencia al servicio de psicoprofilaxis obstétrica; así mismo, las participantes mostraron una mejora en la percepción de la calidad de atención.Introduction: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, various establishments have been offering virtual sessions of obstetric psychoprophylaxis. Like many of the programs in Peru, low adherence requires the implementation of strategies accepted by pregnant women, such as text messages (SMS) that have shown favorable results in other fields. Objective: To evaluate the impact of sending text messages (SMS) as a reminder of appointments in improving attendance at the Obstetric Psychoprophylaxis service. Materials and Methods: Quantitative, true experimental study with a control group. 62 pregnant women who attended the Obstetric Psychoprophylaxis service of the Santa Rosa Maternal and Child Center during the months of October to December 2020 were evaluated, of which 31 received SMS (intervention) and 31 did not (control), the assigned group being a random choice. Attendance at each session was recorded. Additionally, the quality of care was evaluated using SERVQUAL and SERVPERF. The probability of maintaining the sessions over time was evaluated using Hazard Ratio (HR) and Relative Risk (RR). It was approved by the DIRIS Lima Norte and the ethics committee of the Faculty of Medicine of the UNMSM. Results: The analysis showed that having received SMS reduces the risk of stopping attending obstetric psychoprophylaxis sessions (HRa = 0.574; p = 0.047); Likewise, the intervention increases the probability of attending at least 5 (RR = 3.25: p = 0.010) and 6 sessions of the educational program (RR = 4.50; p = 0.020). Finally, the perception of the quality of care was similar in both groups, although in both there was a significant improvement in perception (p &lt;0.05). Conclusions: SMS as a reminder significantly improve attendance at the obstetric psychoprophylaxis service; Likewise, the participants showed an improvement in the perception of the quality of care

    Colorectal cancer inhibition by BET inhibitor JQ1 is MYC-independent and not improved by nanoencapsulation.

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    Bromodomain and extraterminal domain protein inhibitors (BETi) for cancer treatment did not convince during their first clinical trials. Their epigenetic mechanism of action is still not well understood, even if MYC is generally considered as its main downstream target. In this context, we intended to assess two new nanoformulations of the BETi JQ1 for the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). JQ1 was encapsulated at 10 mg/mL in lipid nanocapsules (LNC) or polymeric micelles (PM), both compatible for an intravenous administration. Their effect was compared with free JQ1 on several CRC cell lines in vitro and with daily intraperitoneal cyclodextrin (CD)-loaded JQ1 on the CT26 CRC tumor model in vivo. We showed that LNC preferentially accumulated in tumor, liver, and lymph nodes. LNC-JQ1 and CD-JQ1 similarly delayed tumor growth and increased median survival from 15 to 23 or 20.5 days. JQ1 altered MYC in only two among four CRC cell lines. This MYC-independence found in CT26 was confirmed in vivo by PCR and immunohistochemistry. The main explanation of the JQ1 anticancer effect was an increase in apoptosis. The investigation of its impact on the tumor microenvironment did not show significant effects. Finally, JQ1 association with irinotecan did not synergize in vivo with JQ1 nanoformulations. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the JQ1 anticancer effect was not improved by nanoencapsulation even if their tumor delivery was probably higher. MYC inhibition was not associated to JQ1 efficacy in the case of the CT26 CRC murine model

    Identification of the genetic mechanism that associates L3MBTL3 to multiple sclerosis

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    Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex and demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. One of the challenges of the post-genome-wide association studies (GWAS) era is to understand the molecular basis of statistical associations to reveal gene networks and potential therapeutic targets. The L3MBTL3 locus has been associated with MS risk by GWAS. To identify the causal variant of the locus, we performed fine mapping in a cohort of 3440 MS patients and 1688 healthy controls. The variant that best explained the association was rs6569648 (P = 4.13E-10, odds ratio = 0.71, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.64-0.79), which tagged rs7740107, located in intron 7 of L3MBTL3. The rs7740107 (A/T) variant has been reported to be the best expression and splice quantitative trait locus (eQTL and sQTL) of the region in up to 35 human genotype-tissue expression (GTEx) tissues. By sequencing RNA from blood of 17 MS patients and quantification by digital qPCR, we determined that this eQTL/sQTL originated from the expression of a novel short transcript starting in intron 7 near rs7740107. The short transcript was translated into three proteins starting at different translation initiation codons. These N-terminal truncated proteins lacked the region where L3MBTL3 interacts with the transcriptional regulator Recombination Signal Binding Protein for Immunoglobulin Kappa J Region which, in turn, regulates the Notch signalling pathway. Our data and other functional studies suggest that the genetic mechanism underlying the MS association of rs7740107 affects not only the expression of L3MBTL3 isoforms, but might also involve the Notch signalling pathway

    Analysis of migratory and prosurvival pathways induced by the homeostatic chemokines CCL19 and CCL21 in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia

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    El pdf del artículo es la versión pre-print.[Objective]: The CCR7 chemokine receptor has been reported to promote homing of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells into lymph nodes and support their survival, but the mechanisms mediating these effects are largely unknown. We investigated the role of different signaling pathways triggered by CCR7 engagement by its ligands, the chemokines CCL19 and CCL21, in the control of CLL migration and survival. [Materials and Methods]: Chemotaxis and apoptosis assays were performed in the presence of pharmacologic inhibitors and genetic mutants of the phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI3K), Rho guanosine triphosphatase, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascades to assess the role of these pathways on primary CLL migration and survival in response to CCR7 activation. Kinase activation was determined by immunoblotting and pull-down experiments. [Results]: CLL chemotactic activity induced by CCL19 or CCL21 was markedly reduced by inhibitors of PI3K and the Rho effector molecule Rho-associated coiled-coil forming protein kinases (ROCK), and also by the expression of dominant negative forms of PI3K and RhoA, whereas constitutively activated PI3K and RhoA mutants strongly promoted CLL migration. In contrast, MAPKs were not significantly involved in CLL migration to CCL19/CCL21. Conversely, extracellular signal-regulated kinase and c-Jun-N-terminal kinase, along with PI3K, had a role in CCR7-mediated CLL cell survival. Biochemical experiments confirmed that CCL19/21 induced PI3K-dependent phosphorylation of Akt/protein kinase B, activation of the Rho/Rho-associated coiled-coil forming protein kinases/myosin light chain pathway and MAPKs phosphorylation. [Conclusions]: The role of PI3K, Rho guanosine triphosphatases, and MAPKs in CCR7-mediated CLL cells migration and survival suggests that these signal transduction pathways could represent promising targets for CLL therapy. © 2010 ISEH - Society for Hematology and Stem Cells.Funding was from Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (PETRI2005_0908), IMMUNONET (SUDOE1/P1/E014) and Immunological and Medicinal Products Inc. (Madrid, Spain) (064700) to C.M-C, and FIS (PI080170) to JMZ. S.L-G. was supported by the Fundación de Investigación Biomédica, Hospital de La Princesa (Madrid, Spain). M.A-P. was supported by the Fundación LAIR (Madrid, Spain).Peer Reviewe

    Myosin Vb as a tumor suppressor gene in intestinal cancer

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    Colorectal cancer causes >900,000 deaths every year and a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying this disease will contribute to improve its clinical management and survival. Myosin Vb (MYO5B) regulates intracellular vesicle trafficking, and inactivation of this myosin disrupts the polarization and differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells causing microvillous inclusion disease (MVID), a rare congenital disorder characterized by intractable life-threatening diarrhea. Here, we show that the loss Myosin Vb interfered with the differentiation/polarization of colorectal cancer cells. Although modulation of Myosin Vb expression did not affect the proliferation of colon cancer cells, MYO5B inactivation increased their migration, invasion, and metastatic potential. Moreover, Myo5b inactivation in an intestine-specific knockout mouse model caused a >15-fold increase in the number of azoxymethane-initiated small intestinal tumors. Consistently, reduced expression of Myosin Vb in a cohort of 155 primary colorectal tumors was associated with shorter patient survival. In conclusion, we show here that loss of Myosin Vb reduces polarization/differentiation of colon cancer cells while enhancing their metastatic potential, demonstrating a tumor suppressor function for this myosin. Moreover, reduced expression of Myosin Vb in primary tumors identifies a subset of poor prognosis colorectal cancer patients that could benefit from more aggressive therapeutic regimens

    Identification of ZBTB18 as a novel colorectal tumor suppressor gene through genome-wide promoter hypermethylation analysis

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    Background: Cancer initiation and progression are driven by genetic and epigenetic changes. Although genome/ exome sequencing has signifcantly contributed to the characterization of the genetic driver alterations, further inves‑ tigation is required to systematically identify cancer driver genes regulated by promoter hypermethylation. Results: Using genome-wide analysis of promoter methylation in 45 colorectal cancer cell lines, we found that higher overall methylation levels were associated with microsatellite instability (MSI), faster proliferation and absence of APC mutations. Because epigenetically silenced genes could represent important oncogenic drivers, we used mRNA expression profling of colorectal cancer cell lines and primary tumors to identify a subset of 382 (3.9%) genes for which promoter methylation was negatively associated with gene expression. Remarkably, a signifcant enrich‑ ment in zinc fnger proteins was observed, including the transcriptional repressor ZBTB18. Re-introduction of ZBTB18 in colon cancer cells signifcantly reduced proliferation in vitro and in a subcutaneous xenograft mouse model. Moreover, immunohistochemical analysis revealed that ZBTB18 is frequently lost or reduced in colorectal tumors, and reduced ZBTB18 expression was found to be associated with lymph node metastasis and shorter survival of patients with locally advanced colorectal cancer. Conclusions: We identifed a set of 382 genes putatively silenced by promoter methylation in colorectal cancer that could signifcantly contribute to the oncogenic process. Moreover, as a proof of concept, we demonstrate that the epigenetically silenced gene ZBTB18 has tumor suppressor activity and is a novel prognostic marker for patients with locally advanced colorectal cancer

    Identification of the genetic mechanism that associates L3MBTL3 to multiple sclerosis.

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    Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex and demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. One of the challenges of the post-genome-wide association studies (GWAS) era is to understand the molecular basis of statistical associations to reveal gene networks and potential therapeutic targets. The L3MBTL3 locus has been associated with MS risk by GWAS. To identify the causal variant of the locus, we performed fine mapping in a cohort of 3440 MS patients and 1688 healthy controls. The variant that best explained the association was rs6569648 (P = 4.13E-10, odds ratio = 0.71, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.64-0.79), which tagged rs7740107, located in intron 7 of L3MBTL3. The rs7740107 (A/T) variant has been reported to be the best expression and splice quantitative trait locus (eQTL and sQTL) of the region in up to 35 human genotype-tissue expression (GTEx) tissues. By sequencing RNA from blood of 17 MS patients and quantification by digital qPCR, we determined that this eQTL/sQTL originated from the expression of a novel short transcript starting in intron 7 near rs7740107. The short transcript was translated into three proteins starting at different translation initiation codons. These N-terminal truncated proteins lacked the region where L3MBTL3 interacts with the transcriptional regulator Recombination Signal Binding Protein for Immunoglobulin Kappa J Region which, in turn, regulates the Notch signalling pathway. Our data and other functional studies suggest that the genetic mechanism underlying the MS association of rs7740107 affects not only the expression of L3MBTL3 isoforms, but might also involve the Notch signalling pathway
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