Publications by authors named "Dimitri Poddighe"

Article Synopsis
  • * Results show that while the overall DNT cell count is similar between groups, the number of αβDNT cells is significantly higher in children with rheumatic disorders, with no correlation to disease activity.
  • * The findings suggest that expanded αβDNT cells may be a nonspecific marker of autoimmunity in pediatric patients, pointing to the need for further research to clarify their role in rheumatic diseases.
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Article Synopsis
  • DNT cells are linked to Autoimmune Lymphoproliferative Syndrome (ALPS) and are being studied for their role in pediatric rheumatic disorders, outside of ALPS.
  • A systematic review analyzed data from eight studies on DNT cells in children with conditions like Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, finding DNT cell numbers increased in most cases.
  • Due to the limited and varied studies available, more thorough clinical research is recommended to better understand the role of DNT cells in pediatric rheumatic diseases.
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Double-negative T (DNT) cells are a rare and unconventional T-lymphocyte subpopulation lacking both CD4 and CD8 markers. Their immunopathological roles and clinical relevance have yet to be elucidated. Beyond autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS), these cells may also play a role in rheumatic disorders, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); indeed, these two diseases share several autoimmune manifestations (including nephritis).

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Unlabelled: We aimed to describe incidence and all-cause mortality of hematological pediatric malignancies (leukemia and lymphomas) in Kazakhstan based on nationwide large-scale healthcare data from the Unified National Electronic Healthcare System (UNEHS) for the 2014-2021 year period. The cohort included data of patients less than 18 years old with the diagnosis of hematological malignancies registered in the UNEHS (inpatient and outpatient registries) for the year period 2014-2021. Descriptive statistics were conducted to indicate socio-demographic characteristics of the cohort.

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Article Synopsis
  • Natural killer T (NKT) cells are unique T cells that respond to specific glycolipid antigens and can influence the immune response by producing various cytokines.
  • This review discusses the role of NKT cells in autoimmune hepatitis, examining both animal studies and limited human research, which indicates potential alterations in NKT cells related to the disease.
  • The authors call for more clinical studies to clarify how NKT cells function in autoimmune hepatitis and explore their potential as a disease activity marker.
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Background: A few studies on pediatric Celiac Disease (CD) are available from Central Asia. Recent immunogenetic research has highlighted that the HLA-DQ2/8 genetic predisposition to CD as well as the dietary intake of gluten in this geographical area, are comparable to other regions of the world where CD prevalence is known to be 1% or higher.

Methods: This is a prospective and cross-sectional study investigating the prevalence and clinical characteristics of CD in symptomatic children referred to the pediatric gastroenterology department of a tertiary hospital in Uzbekistan from 1 September 2021, until 31 July 2022.

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Immunoglobulin A Deficiency (IgAD) is the most common primary immunodeficiency and is significantly associated with Celiac Disease (CD), which recognizes a specific background of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) predisposition (including HLA-DQB1*02:01 allele). A number of studies investigated the role of HLA in IgAD etiopathogenesis: HLA-DQB1*02 alleles are included in the main haplotypes linked to this primary immunodeficiency. In this preliminary study, we investigated the potential impact of HLA-DQB1*02:01 allelic status on total serum IgA levels: 108 serum samples from the bone marrow donors' registry were analyzed for total IgA concentration with respect to the HLA-DQB1*02:01 status.

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Article Synopsis
  • Erythema ab igne is a skin condition caused by repeated low-grade heat exposure, leading to symptoms like skin redness and pigmentation, and is rare in children.
  • Many pediatric patients are misdiagnosed or sent for unnecessary immunological tests because doctors may not recognize this condition.
  • Increased use of heat-producing tech devices among kids may lead to a rise in erythema ab igne cases, so doctors should focus on taking thorough patient histories to avoid misdiagnosis and unnecessary treatments.
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Background And Objective: Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is the most abundant antibody isotype in the human body, considering its presence on the mucosal surfaces, in addition to the amount circulating in the bloodstream. Serum IgA levels can be variably altered in several pathological settings. However, very few studies specifically investigated serum IgA in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA).

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Wilms Tumor (WT) is one of the most common renal tumors in the pediatric population. Occasionally, WT can primarily develop outside the kidneys (Extra-Renal Wilms Tumor, ERWT). Most pediatric ERWTs develop in the abdominal cavity and pelvis, whereas the occurrence of this tumor in other extra-renal sites represents a minor part of ERWT cases.

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Celiac disease (CD) is an immune-mediated disorder triggered by dietary gluten intake in some genetically predisposed individuals; however, the additional non-HLA-related genetic factors implicated in CD immunopathogenesis are not well-defined. The role of the innate immune system in autoimmunity has emerged in the last few years. Genetic polymorphisms of some pattern-recognition receptors, including toll-like receptors (TLRs), have been associated with several autoimmune disorders.

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: Celiac Disease (CD) is an immune-mediated disorder which primarily affects the small intestine; however, extra-intestinal organs are often affected by the pathological process, too. As regards the digestive system, liver alterations in CD patients have been widely described, which can also extend to the biliary tract. Notably, gallbladder function can be altered in CD patients.

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Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) is a rare and highly malignant central nervous system (CNS) embryonal neoplasm: it accounts for <2% of all pediatric CNS tumors and occurs mainly in infants and young children. The primary site of this tumor is usually the posterior cranial fossa. Supratentorial and, in detail, latero-ventricular location is extremely uncommon, especially in adolescents.

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Background: SARS-CoV-2 pre-existing T-cell immune reactivity can be present in some people. A general perturbation of the main peripheral lymphocyte subsets has been described in severe COVID-19 patients, but very few studies assessed the general memory T-cell homeostasis in the acute phase of COVID-19. Here, we performed a general analysis of the main memory T cell populations in the peripheral blood of patients admitted to the hospital for a confirmed or probable COVID-19 diagnosis.

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Basophils are the least abundant circulating leukocytes, and their immunological role has not yet been completely elucidated. There is evidence supporting their immunomodulatory role in several pathological settings; recently, studies in both experimental models and humans suggested that basophil homeostasis may be altered in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Here, we first assessed circulating basophils in children affected with pediatric SLE (pSLE).

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(. ) is one of the leading causes of community-acquired pneumonia in children and is also implicated in a variety of reactive extrapulmonary diseases. Recurrent and/or severe respiratory infections are one of the most frequent manifestations of several types of primary immunodeficiency.

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We aimed to evaluate the effect of a combination of natural products on parameters related to inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and oxidative stress in a cohort of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) patients with Serum Amyloid A amyloidosis, in a non-randomized, 24-week open-label interventional study. Morinda citrifolia (anti-atherosclerotic-AAL), omega-3 (anti-inflammatory-AIC), and extract with Alaskan blueberry (antioxidant-AOL) were given to patients with FMF-related biopsy-proven AA amyloidosis. Patients were >18 years and had proteinuria (>3500 mg/day) but a normal estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focused on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients with familial Mediterranean fever-associated AA amyloidosis (FMF-AA), specifically comparing those with the M694V mutation (Group 1) to those with other genotypes (Group 2).
  • - Results showed that Group 1 exhibited significantly lower flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), indicating poorer endothelial function, and higher levels of carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), and pentraxin-3 (PTX3), suggesting a higher risk of future CVD.
  • - The findings indicate a clear genotype-phenotype relationship, where homozygosity for the M694
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Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease of unknown etiology that leads to disability due to articular and extra-articular damage. RA prevalence is variable. The disease is most common among females with a 3 : 1 ratio.

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Background: Even though coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) clinical course in children is much milder than in adults, pneumonia can occur in the pediatric population as well. Here, we reported a single-center pediatric case series of COVID-19 from Kazakhstan during the first wave of pandemic.

Aim: To analyze the main clinical and laboratory aspects in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) positive and negative children diagnosed with pneumonia.

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Celiac Disease (CD) is an immune-mediated and gluten-related disorder whose prevalence is higher in children affected with other autoimmune disorders, including diabetes mellitus type 1, autoimmune thyroiditis, and others. As regards Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) and other pediatric rheumatic disorders, there is no clear recommendation for CD serological screening. In this review, we analyze all the available clinical studies investigating CD among children with JIA (and other rheumatic diseases), in order to provide objective data to better understand the necessity of CD serological screening during the follow-up.

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Selective IgA deficiency (SIgAD) is the most frequent primary immune defect. Since SIgAD is not characterized by relevant infectious issues in most cases, it is often diagnosed during the diagnostic work up of several and different autoimmune disorders, which are associated with this primary immune defect. The genetic background of SIgAD is complex and three HLA haplotypes resulted to be more frequently associated with it; in detail, two of them include HLA-DQB102 allelic variants, which are essential predisposing factors to develop Celiac Disease (CD).

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