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עמוד בית
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July 2019
Darja Kanduc PhD

Background: Although cross-reactions between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) autoantigens occur, a complete analysis of the potential EBV peptide cross-reactome has not been performed.

Objectives: To analyze the whole EBV proteome searching for peptides common to SLE-related proteins and endowed with an immunological potential.

Methods: Fifty-one SLE-related proteins were analyzed for hexapeptide sharing with EBV proteome using publicly available databases.

Results: An extremely high number of hexapeptides are shared between 34 human SLE autoantigens and EBV proteins. The peptide sharing mostly occurs with complement components C4 and Interleukin-10 (IL-10).

Conclusion: This study thoroughly describes the EBV vs. SLE autoantigens peptide overlap and powerfully supports cross-reactivity as a major mechanism in EBV-associated SLE etiopathogenesis.

September 2017
Jeremy Ben-Shoshan MD PhD, Ayman Jubran MD, Ran Levy PhD, Gad Keren MD and Michal Entin-Meer PhD

Background: Systemic CD11b+ cells have been associated with several cardiac diseases, such as chronic heart failure.

Objectives: To assess the levels of circulating CD11b+ cells and pro-inflammatory cytokines in cardiomyopathy induced by chronic adrenergic stimulation.

Methods: Male Lewis rats were injected with low doses of isoproterenol (isoprel) for 3 months. Cardiac parameters were tested by echocardiography. The percentage of CD11b+ cells was tested by flow cytometry. The levels of inflammatory cytokines in the sera were determined by an inflammation array, and the expression levels of cardiac interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptors were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reactions. Cardiac fibrosis and inflammation were determined by histological analysis.

Results: Chronic isoprel administration resulted in increased heart rate, cardiac hypertrophy, elevated cardiac peri-vascular fibrosis, reduced fractional shortening, and increased heart weight per body weight ratio compared to control animals. This clinical presentation was associated with accumulation of CD11b+ cells in the spleen with no concomitant cardiac inflammation. Cardiac dysfunction was also associated with elevated sera levels of IL-1 alpha and over expression of cardiac IL-1 receptor type 2.

Conclusions: CD11b+ systemic levels and IL-1 signaling are associated with cardiomyopathy induced by chronic adrenergic stimulation. Further studies are needed to define the role of systemic immunomodulation in this cardiomyopathy.

 

July 2017
Donato Rigante MD, Stefano Gentileschi MD, Antonio Vitale MD, Giusyda Tarantino MD and Luca Cantarini MD PhD

Fevers recurring at a nearly predictable rate every 3–8 weeks are the signature symptom of periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, cervical adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome, an acquired autoinflammatory disorder which recurs in association with at least one sign among aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and/or cervical lymph node enlargement without clinical signs related to upper respiratory airways or other localized infections. The disease usually has a rather benign course, although it might relapse during adulthood after a spontaneous or treatment-induced resolution in childhood. The number of treatment choices currently available for PFAPA syndrome has grown in recent years, but data from clinical trials dedicated to this disorder are limited to small cohorts of patients or single case reports. The response of PFAPA patients to a single dose of corticosteroids is usually striking, while little data exist for treatment with cimetidine and colchicine. Preliminary interesting results have been published with regard to vitamin D supplementation in PFAPA syndrome, while inhibition of interleukin-1 might represent an intriguing treatment for PFAPA patients who have not responded to standard therapies. Tonsillectomy has been proven curative in many studies related to PFAPA syndrome, although the evidence of its efficacy is not widely shared by different specialists, including pediatricians, rheumatologists and otorhynolaryngologists.

April 2016
Antonio Vitale MD, Donato Rigante MD, Giuseppe Lopalco MD, Carlo Selmi MD, Mauro Galeazzi MD, Florenzo Iannone MD and Luca Cantarini MD PhD

Behçet’s disease (BD) is a systemic inflammatory disorder characterized by a protean clinical spectrum and an enigmatic pathogenesis. After being classified as an autoimmune disorder, spondyloarthritis and vasculitis, today BD is considered at the crossroad between autoimmune and auto-inflammatory syndromes. Many pathogenetic, clinical and therapeutic clues support this recent interpretation, enabling novel treatment choices such as interleukin (IL)-1 inhibition. Thus, in the last decade the IL-1 receptor antagonist anakinra and the anti-IL-1β monoclonal antibody canakinumab were increasingly administered in BD patients resistant to standard therapies, leading to interesting results and new intriguing pathogenetic implications. However, further studies are essential to both establish how the innate and acquired immune systems interact in BD patients and identify the best way of administering anti-IL-1 agents with regard to dosage, interval of administration and organ response.

June 2015
Želmíra Macejová MD PhD, Veronika Vargová MD, Martin Matejka MD and Zoltán Szekanecz MD PhD
February 2015
Luca Cantarini MD PhD, Giuseppe Lopalco MD, Marco Cattalini MD, Antonio Vitale MD, Mauro Galeazzi MD and Donato Rigante MD
Autoinflammatory and autoimmune disorders are characterized by chronic activation of the immune system, which leads to systemic self-directed inflammation in genetically predisposed individuals. Mutations in inflammasome-related proteins have been associated with autoinflammatory disorders, and the link between inflammasome and autoimmune disorders is becoming increasingly clear. As researchers learn more about these two areas, other disorders that were once thought to be autoimmune are now being considered autoinflammatory, or as having at least an autoinflammatory component. This review depicts the role of interleukin-1 as “Ariadne’s thread” on the path through the labyrinth of autoinflammatory and autoimmune disorders and emphasizes the blurred boundary between innate and adaptive immune systems.

 
December 2014
Zahava Vadasz MD, Doron Rimar MD and Elias Toubi MD
October 2014
Elisabetta Borella MD, Lavinia Palma MD, Margherita Zen MD, Silvano Bettio MD, Linda Nalotto MD, Mariele Gatto MD, Marta Domeneghetti MD, Luca Iaccarino MD, Leonardo Punzi and Andrea Doria MD
Autoinflammatory (AIF) and autoimmune (AIM) diseases are chronic immune disorders characterized by dysregulation of the immune system. Most AIF diseases are monogenic diseases which lead to hyperactivation of the inflammasome and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1 (IL-1) and IL-18, resulting in tissue inflammation. Besides, the main feature of autoimmune diseases is the loss of tolerance of the adaptive immune cells against self antigens. Most AIF diseases are polygenic and numerous immune pathogens are involved in organ damage. The involvement of some AIF-associated mechanisms in AIM diseases, i.e., the activation of the inflammasome and the role of IL-1, was recently recognized. Moreover, some single nucleotide polymorphisms of the inflammasome genes have been proven to be involved in the development of AIF-related inflammatory features in autoimmune patients. These observations raise the possibility of using some anti-inflammatory drugs, like IL-1 antagonists, in autoimmune diseases with autoinflammatory features. 
June 2014
Vanya Tsvetkova-Vicheva PhD, Emiliana Konova PhD, Tcvetan Lukanov PhD, Svetla Gecheva MD, Angelika Velkova PhD Dsc and Regina Komsa-Penkova PhD
 Background: Interleukin-17A (IL-17A)-producing CD4+T helper cells have been implicated in allergic inflammation; however, the role of IL-17A in allergic rhinitis (AR) patients with different degrees of atopy and airway reactivity to methacholine (Mch) has not been examined.

Objectives: To explore IL-17A-producing CD3+CD4+T cells in peripheral blood of patients with persistent AR and assess the degree of atopy, eosinophil count (Eo count), and bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) to methacholine.

Methods: The study involved 61 patients and 30 controls. The percentage of CD3+CD4+IL-17A+T cells in peripheral blood was measured by flow cytometry, bronchial challenges with Mch were performed, as was skin prick tests with standard inhalant allergens, and Eo count was measured. Atopic status was determined by the number of positive SPT results and wheal mean diameter.

Results: A statistically significant difference in Th17 cell percentage was found in the AR and control groups (2.59 ± 1.32% and 1.24 ± 0.22% respectively, P = 0.001). Forty-one patients (67.2%) were polysensitized to indoor and outdoor allergens, while 20 (32.8%) had positive skin prick tests to indoor allergens. CD4+T cells were significantly higher in the patient group compared to the control group (2.91 ± 1.5% versus 1.91 ± 0.62%, P = 0.005), as was Eo count (4.48 ± 2.13 vs. 2.32 ± 1.83) (P = 0.0001). Forty-one in the AR group (67%) and 7 (23%) in the control group were Mch-positive (P = 0.001). The percentage of IL-17A-producing CD4+T cells was significantly higher in males compared to females (3.15 ± 1.8% versus 2.31 ± 0.9%, P = 0.02)

Conclusions: Polysensitized AR patients exhibited higher IL-17A-producing CD4+T cell levels and eosinophil counts. Male patients displayed a higher frequency of IL-17A-producing T cells. 

May 2014
Ilan Ben-Zvi MD and Avi Livneh MD
Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a genetic autoinflammatory disease characterized by spontaneous short attacks of fever, elevated acute-phase reactants, and serositis. Approximately 5%–10% of FMF patients do not respond to colchicine treatment and another 5% are intolerant to colchicine because of side effects. Recently, following the discovery of the inflammasome and recognition of the importance of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) as the major cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of FMF, IL-1β blockade has been suggested and tried sporadically to treat FMF, with good results. To date, case reports and small case series involving colchicine-resistant FMF patients and showing high efficacy of IL-1β blockade have been reported. At the Israel Center for FMF at the Sheba Medical Center the first double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial of anakinra in FMF patients who are resistant or intolerant to colchicines is underway. In this report we discuss the mechanism of colchicine resistance in FMF patients, the data in the literature on IL1β blockade in these patients, and the anakinra trial inclusion criteria and study protocol.

March 2010
O. Amir, O. Rogowski, M. David, N. Lahat, R. Wolff and B.S. Lewis

Background: Interleukin-10 is an anti-inflammatory cytokine and consequently is considered by many to have a protective role in heart failure, as opposed to the notorious tumor necrosis factor-alpha.

Objectives: To test the hypothesis of the possible beneficial impact of IL-10[1] on mortality in systolic heart failure patients in relation to their circulating TNFα[2] levels.

Methods: We measured circulating levels of IL-10 and TNFα in 67 ambulatory systolic heart failure patients (age 65 ± 13 years).

Results: Mortality was or tended to be higher in patients with higher levels (above median level) of circulating TNFα (9/23, 39% vs. 6/44, 14%; P = 0.02) or IL-10 (10/34, 30% vs. 5/33, 15%; P = 0.10). However, mortality was highest in the subset of patients with elevation of both markers above median (7/16, 44% vs. 8/51, 16%; P = 0.019). Elevation of both markers was associated with more than a threefold hazard ratio for mortality (HR[3] 3.67, 95% confidence interval 1.14–11.78).

Conclusions: Elevated circulating IL-10 levels in systolic heart failure patients do not have a protective counterbalance effect on mortality. Moreover, patients with elevated IL-10 and TNFα had significantly higher mortality, suggesting that the possible interaction in the complex inflammatory and anti-inflammatory network may need further study.

 






[1] IL = interleukin

[2] TNFα = tumor necrosis factor-alpha

[3] HR = hazard ratio


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