Non-Invasive Assessment of Skin Surface Proteins of Psoriasis Vulgaris Patients in Response to Biological Therapy.

Measurements of skin surface biomarkers have enormous value for the detailed assessment of skin conditions, both for clinical application and in skin care. The main goals of the current study were to assess whether expression patterns of skin surface hBD-1, hBD-2, IL-1α, CXCL-1, and CXCL-8, examples of proteins known to be involved in psoriasis pathology, are associated with disease severity and whether expression patterns of these proteins on the skin surface can be used to measure pharmacodynamic effects of biological therapy. In this observational study using transdermal analysis patch (TAP), levels of skin surface IL-1α, hBD-1, hBD-2, CXCL-1/2, and CXCL-8 of psoriasis vulgaris (PV) patients over biological therapy were assessed.

Protection of β2GPI Deficient Mice from Thrombosis Reflects a Defect in PAR3-facilitated Platelet Activation.

Background: Antibodies to β2-glycoprotein I (β2GPI) cause thrombosis in antiphospholipid syndrome, however the role of β2GPI itself in regulation of coagulation pathways is not well understood.

Methods: We developed β2GPI-deficient mice by deleting exon 2 and 3 of using CRISPR/Cas9 and compared the propensity of wild-type (WT) and mice to develop thrombosis using rose bengal and FeCl -induced carotid thrombosis, laser-induced cremaster arteriolar injury, and inferior vena cava (IVC) stasis models. We also compared tail bleeding times and assessed platelet activation in WT and mice in the absence and presence of exogenous β2GPI.

C1 inhibitor and prolylcarboxypeptidase modulate prekallikrein activation on endothelial cells.

Background: We examined how prekallikrein (PK) activation on human microvascular endothelial cells (HMVECs) is regulated by the ambient concentration of C1 inhibitor (C1INH) and prolylcarboxypeptidase (PRCP).

Objective: We sought to examine the specificity of PK activation on HMVECs by PRCP and the role of C1INH to regulate it, high-molecular-weight kininogen (HK) cleavage, and bradykinin (BK) liberation.

Methods: Investigations were performed on cultured HMVECs.

Vascular surgery patients with elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios have downregulated neutrophil complement RNA expression.

Elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients who undergo elective vascular surgery (EVS) have increased mortality independent of perioperative surgical outcome. To understand why high NLR is associated with higher mortality, we investigated neutrophil and lymphocyte transcriptome expression in patients undergoing EVS. Blood samples were collected from patients undergoing EVS and healthy donors for NLR calculation.

Polyphosphate expression by cancer cell extracellular vesicles mediates binding of factor XII and contact activation.

Extracellular vesicles (EV) have been implicated in diverse biological processes, including intracellular communication, transport of nucleic acids, and regulation of vascular function. Levels of EVs are elevated in cancer, and studies suggest that EV may stimulate thrombosis in patients with cancer through expression of tissue factor. However, limited data also implicate EV in the activation of the contact pathway of coagulation through activation of factor XII (FXII) to FXIIa.