Association between the level of circulating bioactive tumor necrosis factor alpha and the tumor necrosis factor alpha gene polymorphism at -308 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with a tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitor.

Objective: The tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) -308A polymorphism has been associated with high production of TNFalpha and poor response to anti-TNFalpha therapy, but these associations remain controversial. The aim of this study was to explore the association between circulating TNFalpha bioactivity, the TNFalpha -308 polymorphism, and the clinical response to infliximab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: One hundred ninety-eight patients with RA were treated with infliximab and methotrexate.

Decreased expression of the fractalkine receptor CX3CR1 on circulating monocytes as new feature of sepsis-induced immunosuppression.

Although it is known that septic shock rapidly induces immune dysfunctions, which contribute to the impaired clearance of microorganisms observed in patients, the mechanisms for this phenomenon remain incompletely understood. We recently observed, in a microarray study, an altered circulating leukocyte CX3CR1 mRNA expression associated with patients' mortality. As monocytes play a central role in septic shock pathophysiology and express high levels of CX3CR1, we therefore further investigated the alteration of CX3CR1 expression and of its ligand fractalkine (CX3CL1) on those cells in this clinical condition.

Galectin-10 mRNA is overexpressed in peripheral blood of aspirin-induced asthma.

Background: In sensitive patients, aspirin is associated with nasal and bronchial inflammation, eliciting local symptoms. Although the disease is clinically well characterized, its physiopathology is incompletely understood and noninvasive procedures, allowing an effective distinction between aspirin-induced asthma (AIA) and aspirin-tolerant asthma (ATA) are missing.

Objectives: The aims of the study were to compare AIA and ATA cohorts for clinical characteristics and to screen peripheral blood for differential mRNA expression.

Increased tumor necrosis factor-alpha mRNA expression in whole blood from patients with rheumatoid arthritis: reduction after infliximab treatment does not predict response.

Objective: It has been suggested that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with abundant tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) are more likely to respond to TNF-alpha inhibitors. We measured expression of TNF-alpha mRNA in peripheral blood of RA patients undergoing infliximab treatment in order to test its predictive value for treatment response.

Methods: Forty-four RA patients showing persistent disease activity and 27 healthy controls were studied.

A rapid semi automated method for DNA extraction from dried-blood spots: application to the HLA-DR shared epitope analysis in rheumatoid arthritis.

Genomic DNA extraction for genotyping analysis is performed from blood samples and is time consuming. We describe a more rapid DNA extraction method, "DBS-miniMAG", that combines filter paper dried blood spots (DBS) with the NucliSens miniMAG semi-automated instrument (bioMérieux). To assess the performance of this method, a post-PCR HLA-DR shared epitope (SE) oligotyping assay was used as a read-out in a cohort of 72 arthritis patients.