Large-scale analysis of longitudinal skin gene expression in systemic sclerosis reveals relationships of immune cell and fibroblast activity with skin thickness and a trend towards normalisation over time.

Objectives: Determine relationships between skin gene expression and systemic sclerosis (SSc) clinical disease features, and changes in skin gene expression over time.

Methods: A total of 339 forearm skin biopsies were obtained from 113 SSc patients and 44 matched healthy controls. 105 SSc patients had a second biopsy, and 76 had a third biopsy.

Multifunctional Transmembrane Protein Ligands for Cell-Specific Targeting of Plasma Membrane-Derived Vesicles.

Liposomes and nanoparticles that bind selectively to cell-surface receptors can target specific populations of cells. However, chemical conjugation of ligands to these particles is difficult to control, frequently limiting ligand uniformity and complexity. In contrast, the surfaces of living cells are decorated with highly uniform populations of sophisticated transmembrane proteins.