An interferon signature in the peripheral blood of dermatomyositis patients is associated with disease activity.

Recent studies have shown increased expression of interferon (IFN)-regulated genes in the peripheral blood cells of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. A similar interferon signature has been observed in affected muscle tissue from patients with dermatomyositis (DM), but it has not yet been determined if this signature extends to the peripheral blood in DM. We performed global gene expression profiling of peripheral blood cells from adult and juvenile DM patients and healthy controls.

Elevated serum levels of interferon-regulated chemokines are biomarkers for active human systemic lupus erythematosus.

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a serious systemic autoimmune disorder that affects multiple organ systems and is characterized by unpredictable flares of disease. Recent evidence indicates a role for type I interferon (IFN) in SLE pathogenesis; however, the downstream effects of IFN pathway activation are not well understood. Here we test the hypothesis that type I IFN-regulated proteins are present in the serum of SLE patients and correlate with disease activity.

Interferon-inducible gene expression signature in peripheral blood cells of patients with severe lupus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex, inflammatory autoimmune disease that affects multiple organ systems. We used global gene expression profiling of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to identify distinct patterns of gene expression that distinguish most SLE patients from healthy controls. Strikingly, about half of the patients studied showed dysregulated expression of genes in the IFN pathway.

Visualizing human leukocyte antigen class II risk haplotypes in human systemic lupus erythematosus.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and class II alleles are implicated as genetic risk factors for many autoimmune diseases. However, the role of the HLA loci in human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) remains unclear. Using a dense map of polymorphic microsatellites across the HLA region in a large collection of families with SLE, we identified three distinct haplotypes that encompassed the class II region and exhibited transmission distortion.