Pathophysiologic role of Interleukin-33/ST2 in Sjögren's syndrome

Interleukin-33 (IL-33) is a member of the IL-1 family and has dual functions as a nuclear factor as well as a cytokine. The pivotal role of IL-33 as an active player contributing to aberrant local and systemic damage has been highlighted in several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by dry eyes and mouth syndrome due to local dysfunctions of exocrine glands, but also accompanied with systemic manifestations. The pathophysiology of pSS has been advocated as a conjecture of activated B and T cells as well as the production of inflammatory cytokines and autoantibodies, driving epithelial tissue damage and disease progression. In pSS, IL-33 is released in the extracellular space from damaged salivary cells upon pro-inflammatory stimuli and/or dysfunction of epithelial barrier. Counter-regulatory mechanisms are initiated to limit the pro-inflammatory actions of IL-33 as portrayed by an increase in the decoy receptor for IL-33, the soluble form of ST2 (sST2). In pSS and associated diseases, the levels of IL-33 are significantly elevated in the serum or tears of patients. Mechanistically, IL-33 acts in synergy with IL-12 and IL-23 on NK and NKT cells to boost the production of IFN-γ contributing to inflammation. TNF-α, IL-1β and IFN-γ in turn further increase the activation of IL-33/ST2 pathway, thereby constituting a vicious inflammatory loop leading to disease exacerbation. IL-33/ST2 axis is involved in Sjögren's syndrome and opens new perspectives as therapeutic target of one of the culprits in the inflammatory perpetuation.SCOPUS: re.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Pericarditis Revealing Large Vessel Vasculitis

Large vessels vasculitis and more specifically, Giant cell arteritis, is characterized by increased inflammatory markers, headaches and altered clinical status. Diagnosis is confirmed by biopsy of temporal arteries showing the presence of granuloma and vasculitis. We hereby report the case of a patient presenting initially as pericarditis and revealing large vessel vasculitis using FDG-PET

Dermatomyositis Associated with Sarcoidosis: Two Cases

Dermatomyositis (DM) and sarcoidosis are two idiopathic systemic disorders. Reports of patients with both conditions are extremely rare. Here we describe two patients who presented with DM and DM-associated antibodies, and later developed biopsy-proven sarcoidosis. There are increasing reports of the occurrence of sarcoidosis in the context of autoimmune diseases. These observations might imply similarities in the pathogenetic mechanisms

Nutritional and Biological Evaluation of Leaves of Mangifera indica from Mauritius

Mango trees are evergreen plants that are present all around Mauritius. In this study, mango leaves, Mangifera indica grown in Mauritius were investigated for their nutritional values involving proximate composition, total flavonoid (TFC), total phenolic (TPC), and mineral content, and phytochemicals as well as its antioxidant and antibacterial properties. The ash, crude fat, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL) of the mango leaves were found to be 12.61, 3.92, 35.32, 34.98, and 12.86%, respectively. The calcium content (2.15%) was above the normal required range, while the phosphorus content (0.12%) and crude protein content (13.60%) were within the normal required range of common fodders. The phytochemical results showed the presence of saponins, alkaloids, phenols, tannins, and flavonoids in the crude, EtOAC, and MeOH extracts. The values of TPC and TFC were higher for the EtOAC extract compared to the MeOH extract. Several secondary metabolites were identified from the leaves of the Mangifera indica which include 11 phenols, 4 xanthones, 9 flavanols, 10 benzophenones, 7 terpenoids, and 4 derivatives of gallotannins using UPLC-MS/MS. The presence of these metabolites is responsible for good antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Hence, mango leaves can be exploited for its potential use as a supplementary fodder for ruminants

Addressing the clinical unmet needs in primary Sjögren's Syndrome through the sharing, harmonization and federated analysis of 21 European cohorts

For many decades, the clinical unmet needs of primary Sjögren's Syndrome (pSS) have been left unresolved due to the rareness of the disease and the complexity of the underlying pathogenic mechanisms, including the pSS-associated lymphomagenesis process. Here, we present the HarmonicSS cloud-computing exemplar which offers beyond the state-of-the-art data analytics services to address the pSS clinical unmet needs, including the development of lymphoma classification models and the identification of biomarkers for lymphomagenesis. The users of the platform have been able to successfully interlink, curate, and harmonize 21 regional, national, and international European cohorts of 7,551 pSS patients with respect to the ethical and legal issues for data sharing. Federated AI algorithms were trained across the harmonized databases, with reduced execution time complexity, yielding robust lymphoma classification models with 85% accuracy, 81.25% sensitivity, 85.4% specificity along with 5 biomarkers for lymphoma development. To our knowledge, this is the first GDPR compliant platform that provides federated AI services to address the pSS clinical unmet needs. © 2022 The Author(s

Involvement of Aquaporins in the Pathogenesis, Diagnosis and Treatment of Sjögren’s Syndrome

Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of salivary and lacrimal glands resulting in diminished production of saliva and tears. The pathophysiology of SS has not yet been fully deciphered. Classically it has been postulated that sicca symptoms in SS patients are a double step process whereby lymphocytic infiltration of lacrimal and salivary glands (SG) is followed by epithelial cell destruction resulting in keratoconjunctivitis sicca and xerostomia. Recent advances in the field of the pathophysiology of SS have brought in new players, such as aquaporins (AQPs) and anti AQPs autoantibodies that could explain underlying mechanistic processes and unveil new pathophysiological pathways offering a deeper understanding of the disease. In this review, we delineate the link between the AQP and SS, focusing on salivary glands, and discuss the role of AQPs in the treatment of SS-induced xerostomia

Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis Overlapping with IgG4-Related Disease.

IgG4-related disease and granulomatosis with polyangiitis share several features as well as the presence of ANCA antibodies and serum IgG4 immunoglobulins. It is often difficult to distinguish between two entities. We hereby report the case of a patient portraying the clinical conundrum with clinical and biological features of the two diseases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe