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- Appel, Silke, et al.
(author)
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Potential association of muscarinic receptor 3 gene variants with primary Sjogren's syndrome
- 2011
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In: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. - : BMJ. - 0003-4967 .- 1468-2060. ; 70:7, s. 1327-1329
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is characterised by a chronic inflammation of exocrine glands. Salivary gland infiltrates, however, do not correlate well with disease symptoms, and a primary role for the salivary gland parenchyma in disease development has been suggested. Specifically, dysfunction of exocrine pathways involving the muscarinic receptor 3 (CHRM3) has been indicated. Objective: To investigate possible genetic divergence in the CHRM3 gene in patients with pSS. Methods: 530 patients with pSS and 532 controls from a combined Swedish and Norwegian cohort were genotyped for 84 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) distributed throughout CHRM3. Results: Genetic association was observed with five SNPs localised in intron 3 and 4 of CHRM3, the strongest being rs7548522 (minor allele frequency = 0.06, OR=1.93, 95% CI (1.24 to 3.01); p=0.0033). In addition, clinical parameters, including focus score, abnormal Schirmer's test and presence of autoantibodies, were associated with different SNPs in CHRM3. Conclusion: The study demonstrates a novel association of CHRM3 polymorphisms with pSS, suggesting a functional role for CHRM3 and the salivary gland parenchyma in the pathogenesis of pSS.
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- Keindl, Magdalena, et al.
(author)
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Increased Plasma Soluble Interleukin-2 Receptor Alpha Levels in Patients With Long-Term Type 1 Diabetes With Vascular Complications Associated With IL2RA and PTPN2 Gene Polymorphisms
- 2020
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In: Frontiers in Endocrinology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-2392. ; 11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is largely considered an autoimmune disease leading to the destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells. Further, patients with T1D have 3-4-fold increased risk of developing micro- and macrovascular complications. However, the contribution of immune-related factors contributing to these diabetes complications are poorly understood. Individuals with long-term T1D who do not progress to vascular complications offer a great potential to evaluate end-organ protection. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of inflammatory protein levels with vascular complications (retinopathy, nephropathy, cardiovascular disease) in individuals with long-term T1D compared to individuals who rapidly progressed to complications. We studied a panel of inflammatory markers in plasma of patients with long-term T1D with (n = 81 and 26) and without (n = 313 and 25) vascular complications from two cross-sectional Scandinavian cohorts (PROLONG and DIALONG) using Luminex technology. A subset of PROLONG individuals (n = 61) was screened for circulating immune cells using multicolor flow cytometry. We found that elevated plasma levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha (sIL-2R) were positively associated with the complication phenotype. Risk carriers of polymorphisms in the IL2RA and PTPN2 gene region had elevated plasma levels of sIL-2R. In addition, cell surface marker analysis revealed a shift from naive to effector T cells in T1D individuals with vascular complications as compared to those without. In contrast, no difference between the groups was observed either in IL-2R cell surface expression or in regulatory T cell population size. In conclusion, our data indicates that IL2RA and PTPN2 gene variants might increase the risk of developing vascular complications in people with T1D, by affecting sIL-2R plasma levels and potentially lowering T cell responsiveness. Thus, elevated sIL-2R plasma levels may serve as a biomarker in monitoring the risk for developing diabetic complications and thereby improve patient care.
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- Lasaviciute, Gintare, 1990-
(author)
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Functions and memory features of adaptive- and innate immune cells in physiological and inflammatory settings
- 2022
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The immune system is a complex but well-regulated network which cooperates with the microbiota to maintain optimal homeostasis under physiological settings. A number of factors display the capacity to alter the immune system and thus microbiota crosstalk including host genetics, diet, environmental influences and drugs such as antibiotics or chemotherapeutic agents.We and others have previously demonstrated immune regulatory capacities of the gut commensal Limosilactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri) that seem to act via myeloid cells. In paper I, we have further shown that priming of blood dendritic cells (DCs) or monocytes with L. reuteri-derived cell free supernatant (CFS) modifies how these cells respond to future stimulus challenge, even after monocytes differentiation to DCs (mo-DCs). Notably, priming conditions in mo-DCs skewed subsequent T-helper cell responses. In paper II, we continued to elaborate on whether microbial and gut-associated metabolites modify chemotherapy-induced effects. Thus far, we could show that the CFS from probiotic bacteria might imprint immune cells to modulate inflammatory responses when intestinal epithelial cells are compromised by chemotherapy exposure. In paper III, we investigated how chemotherapy agent Doxorubicin (Doxo) affects bone marrow resident mesenchymal stromal cells (BM MSCs) which support antibody secreting cells (ASCs) responsible for serological memory. Our findings have shown that Doxo-induced alterations in BM MSCs are not sufficient to disrupt their support to ASCs, thus alternative or additional factors might be implicated in ASC preservation during chemotherapy. Lastly, in paper IV, we investigated how Doxo affects secondary lymphoid organs and we found that splenic compartment is more prominently affected by Doxo treatment compared to its lymph node counterpart in an animal model of rhesus macaques.Collectively, this thesis outlines novel perceptions on innate immune memory-like capacity and how gut-associated factors influence such recall responses in innate immune cells. Further, this thesis increases our knowledge on how adaptive immune cells, required for long-term serological memory, are preserved during toxic conditions such as those induced by chemotherapy treatment.
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