Validation of an indirect ELISA assay for assessment of autoantibodies against full-length TRIM21 and its individual domains.

Anti-SSA-autoantibodies are common in patients with rheumatologic disease, especially Sjögren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. They consist of both autoantibodies towards Ro60 and Ro52, the latter also known as TRIM21. TRIM21 is an intracellular protein consisting of four domains; PRY/SPRY, Coiled-Coil, B-box and RING.

Patients with VEXAS diagnosed in a Danish tertiary rheumatology setting have highly elevated inflammatory markers, macrocytic anaemia and negative autoimmune biomarkers.

Background: Vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic (VEXAS) is an autoinflammatory condition with overlapping features of rheumatology and haematology caused by somatic mutations in the UBA1 gene. Patients present with highly variable symptoms and their path towards diagnosis are often complicated and characterised by extensive examinations. It is, therefore, pivotal that clinicians become familiar with the clinical presentation of VEXAS to advance identification of patients with the disease.

Hepatitis B virus upregulates host microRNAs that target apoptosis-regulatory genes in an in vitro cell model.

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection increases the risk of developing severe liver disease including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). As microRNAs may modulate host - virus interactions, we here investigated if hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection modulate microRNA expression using an in vitro HepG2 cell model system with inducible HBV replication. We found that HBV replication was associated with upregulation of miR-192-5p, miR-194-5p and miR-215-5p, of which miR-192-5p and miR-215-5p have identical seed sequences.

Hepatitis B virus suppresses the secretion of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 to facilitate anti-apoptotic IGF-1 effects in HepG2 cells.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major global health burden as chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is associated with the development of liver diseases including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To gain insight into the mechanisms causing HBV-related HCC, we investigated the effects of HBV replication on global host cell gene expression using human HepG2 liver cells. By microarray analysis, we identified 54 differentially expressed genes in HBV-replicating HepG2 cells.

Identification of valid reference genes for microRNA expression studies in a hepatitis B virus replicating liver cell line.

Background: MicroRNAs are regulatory molecules and suggested as non-invasive biomarkers for molecular diagnostics and prognostics. Altered expression levels of specific microRNAs are associated with hepatitis B virus infection and hepatocellular carcinoma. We previously identified differentially expressed microRNAs with liver-specific target genes in plasma from children with chronic hepatitis B.