Reactive oxygen species produced by myeloid cells in psoriasis as a potential biofactor contributing to the development of vascular inflammation.

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease driven by interleukin-17A (IL-17A) and associated with cardiovascular dysfunction. We used a severe psoriasis mouse model of keratinocyte IL-17A overexpression (K14-IL-17Aind/+ , IL-17Aind/+ control mice) to investigate the activity of neutrophils and a potential cellular interconnection between skin and vasculature. Levels of dermal reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their release by neutrophils were measured by lucigenin-/luminol-based assays, respectively. Quantitative RT-PCR determined neutrophilic activity and inflammation-related markers in skin and aorta. To track skin-derived immune cells, we used PhAM-K14-IL-17Aind/+ mice allowing us to mark all cells in the skin by photoconversion of a fluorescent protein to analyze their migration into spleen, aorta, and lymph nodes by flow cytometry. Compared to controls, K14-IL-17Aind/+ mice exhibited elevated ROS levels in the skin and a higher neutrophilic oxidative burst accompanied by the upregulation of several activation markers. In line with these results psoriatic mice displayed elevated expression of genes involved in neutrophil migration (e.g., Cxcl2 and S100a9) in skin and aorta. However, no direct immune cell migration from the psoriatic skin into the aortic vessel wall was observed. Neutrophils of psoriatic mice showed an activated phenotype, but no direct cellular migration from the skin to the vasculature was observed. This suggests that highly active vasculature-invading neutrophils must originate directly from the bone marrow. Hence, the skin-vasculature crosstalk in psoriasis is most likely based on the systemic effects of the autoimmune skin disease, emphasizing the importance of a systemic therapeutic approach for psoriasis patients

Inter-Day Test-Retest Reproducibility of the CAT, CCQ, HADS and EQ-5D-3L in Patients with Severe and Very Severe COPD

INTRODUCTION: In patients with COPD, the COPD Assessment Test (CAT), Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and EuroQol 5D (EQ-5D-3L) are widely used patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) of respiratory symptoms, anxiety, depression and quality of life. Despite established validity, responsiveness and minimal important change (MIC), the reproducibility and especially important agreement parameters remain unreported in these frequently used PROMs. The aim of this study was to investigate the inter-day test–retest reliability and agreement of the CAT, CCQ, HADS and EQ-5D-3L in patients with severe and very severe COPD (FEV1 <50%) eligible for hospital-based pulmonary rehabilitation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty patients (22 females, mean [SD] age 67 [9] yrs.; FEV(1) 32[9] %; 6-minute walk distance 347 [102] meters; CAT 21 [6] points; BMI: 26 [6] kg/m(2)) completed the questionnaires (CAT, CCQ, HADS, EQ-5D-3L) in combination with functional performance test instructed by one assessor on test-day one (T1) and by another assessor 7–10 days later on test-day two (T2). RESULTS: The inter-day test–retest reliability ICC was 0.88 (LL(95CI): 0.80) for CAT; 0.69 (LL(95CI): 0.46) for CCQ; 0.86 (LL(95CI): 0.75) and 0.90 (LL(95CI): 0.82) for HADS-anxiety (A) and depression (D) and 0.87 (LL(95CI): 0.76) for EQ-5D-VAS. The corresponding agreements within a single measurement (standard error of measurement, SEM) and for repeated measurement errors (smallest real difference, SRD) were respectively 2.1 and 2.9 points for CAT; 0.5 and 0.7 points for CCQ total; 1.3 and 1.9 points for HADS-A; 0.9 and 1.3 points for HADS-D and 6.8 and 9.7 VAS-score for EQ-5D-3L, respectively. Ceiling/flooring effect was present in <5% for all questionnaires. CONCLUSION: In patients with severe and very severe COPD, the CAT, CCQ, HADS and EQ-5D-3L questionnaires presented moderate to excellent inter-day test–retest reliability, and no floor or ceiling effect was documented for any of the questionnaires. Only CAT and HADS had an acceptable SRD below the established MIC for assessing change over time on group level, and none of the PROMS were fit to assess individual changes over time