Objectives: This study aimed to assess (1) effects of abatacept on salivary gland histology of Sjögren's disease (SjD) patients, (2) the predictive value of salivary gland histopathological characteristics at baseline for clinical response to abatacept treatment.
Methods: Patients (n=41) who participated in the Dutch ASAP-II and ASAP-III trials and international abatacept trial (IM101603) from whom a labial (n=13) or parotid (n=28) salivary gland biopsy was obtained at baseline and after 24 weeks of treatment with abatacept were included. Biopsies were analysed for SjD related histopathological features before and after abatacept (n=25) or placebo (n=16) treatment.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the histopathological features of the parotid glands in patients with paediatric-onset Sjögren's disease (pedSjD) in comparison to patients with adult-onset Sjögren's disease (adSjD).
Methods: This study was performed in Groningen, the Netherlands. Patients with pedSjD from a diagnostic paediatric cohort (n=19), patients with adSjD from a diagnostic adult cohort (n=32) and patients with adSjD who participated in a clinical trial (n=42) with a baseline parotid gland biopsy were included.
Objectives: To compare focus score and other histopathological features between paired labial and parotid salivary gland biopsies in a diagnostic cohort of suspected Sjögren's disease (SjD) patients.
Methods: Labial and parotid salivary gland biopsies were simultaneously obtained from patients with sicca complaints, suspected of having SjD. Biopsies were formalin fixed and paraffin embedded.
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the labial salivary gland biopsy based on multiple histopathological features in patients with suspected primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS).
Methods: Patients from a diagnostic sicca cohort with clinically suspected pSS who underwent a labial gland biopsy were included. Patients were categorized as having pSS or non-Sjögren syndrome sicca (non-SS sicca) based on vignettes scored by an expert panel.
Objective: The involvement of salivary glands in primary SS (pSS) can be assessed in different ways: histopathology, salivary flow and ultrasonography. To understand the relative value of these different approaches, it is crucial to understand the relationship between them. As we routinely perform these three modalities in the parotid gland for disease evaluation, our aim was to investigate the construct validity between these modalities in one and the same gland.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) suffer widely from lack of saliva production. Here we investigate potential mechanisms underpinning changes in SS patient saliva composition. Sodium concentration was significantly higher in all saliva samples collected: unstimulated submandibular/sublingual (SmSl) saliva (p<0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: While all salivary glands (SGs) can be involved in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS), their respective role in pathogenesis remains unclear. Our objective was to assess immunopathway activation in paired parotid and labial gland tissue from biopsy-positive and biopsy-negative pSS and non-SS sicca patients.
Methods: Paraffin-embedded, paired parotid and labial salivary gland tissue and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained from 39 pSS and 20 non-SS sicca patients.
Aim: To compare biomarker levels in peri-implant crevicular fluid (PICF) of healthy implants with levels in PICF of implants with peri-implantitis (before and after non-surgical treatment).
Materials And Methods: Samples were taken from 20 healthy implants (n = 17 patients) and from 20 implants with peri-implantitis (n = 19 patients) before and 3 months after non-surgical treatment using the Airflow Master Piezon (EMS). A Luminex™ assay was used to evaluate pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6 and G-CSF, collagen degradation enzyme MMP-8, chemokines MCP-1 & MIP-1α/CCL3, bone markers OPG and sRANKL and interferon-γ.
Objective: The aim was to study clinical, histopathological and immunological changes in the vagina and cervix of women with primary SS, which might explain vaginal dryness.
Methods: We included 10 pre-menopausal female primary SS patients with vaginal dryness and 10 pre-menopausal controls undergoing a laparoscopic procedure. The vaginal health index was recorded.
Objective: Alterations in the microbiota composition of the gastro-intestinal tract are suspected to be involved in the etiopathogenesis of two closely related systemic inflammatory autoimmune diseases: primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Our objective was to assess whether alterations in gut and oral microbiota compositions are specific for pSS and SLE.
Methods: 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing was performed on fecal samples from 39 pSS patients, 30 SLE patients and 965 individuals from the general population, as well as on buccal swab and oral washing samples from the same pSS and SLE patients.
The autoimmune disease primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is characterized by hypofunction of the salivary glands (SGs), the cause of which is not correlated to lymphocytic SG infiltration, as prevailing dogma often states. We knocked out the NF-κB proinflammatory pathway inhibitor A20 in keratin14+ epithelial cells, to investigate if immune activated epithelial cells are capable of initiating pSS SG hallmarks. We show that immune activated epithelial cells can cause T cell dominated leukocytic infiltration and immune foci development of the SGs, reflecting the early clinical picture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Environmental factors in the aetiology of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) are largely unknown. Host-microbiome interaction at mucosal surfaces is presumed to be involved in the aetiopathogenesis of pSS. Here, we assessed whether the microbiome of the buccal mucosa is specific for pSS compared with symptom-controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMarker density of a QTL region on pig chromosome 4 was increased. New microsatellites were identified by in silico mining of BAC-end and genomic shotgun sequences. Among 8,784 BAC-end sequences predicted within the region, 148 microsatellites were identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn a previous study, QTL for carcass composition and meat quality were identified in a commercial finisher cross. The main objective of the current study was to confirm and fine map the QTL on SSC4 and SSC11 by genotyping an increased number of individuals and markers and to analyze the data using a combined linkage and linkage disequilibrium analysis method. A modified version of the method excludes linkage disequilibrium information from the analysis, enabling the comparison of results based on linkage information only or results based on combined linkage and linkage disequilibrium information.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to detect SNPs in exon 10 of the chinchilla growth hormone receptor gene (GHR) by comparative sequencing. Sixty females of the same breed (Standard) were analysed. Four new SNPs were identified, which cause 3 amino acid substitutions in the intracellular domain of the receptor: G/C at position 135 bp (in relation to the total sequence of exon 10) (gln/his), CAG/AAA at 352 bp and 354 bp (gln/lys), and C/A at 641 bp (thr/asn).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn an era of rapidly increasing prevalence of human obesity and associated health problems, leptin gene polymorphisms have drawn much attention in biomedical research. Leptin gene polymorphisms have furthermore drawn much attention from animal scientists for their possible roles in economically important production and reproduction traits. Of the polymorphisms reported for exonic, intronic, and promoter regions of the leptin gene, 16 have been included in association studies in humans, 19 in cattle, and 6 (all exonic or intronic) in pigs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn dairy cattle, the increase in milk yield has been accompanied by a more negative energy balance (EB) during early lactation and a decrease in fertility. As the hormone leptin is involved in regulation of nutritional status and reproductive function this hormone is an interesting protein to investigate during the periparturient period in dairy cattle. This study was performed to get insight into the function of leptin during the periparturient period and to perform an association study between polymorphisms in the bovine leptin gene and leptin receptor gene and fertility as well as production traits.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeptin concentrations in body fluids and tissues undergo dynamic changes during the periparturient period. Polymorphisms in the leptin gene have been shown to be associated with differences in leptin concentration during late pregnancy but not during lactation. As the promoter of leptin regulates the expression of leptin, polymorphisms in this region could play an important role in the differences in leptin expression observed during the periparturient period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe leptin receptor (LEPR) gene consists of 20 exons divided over 1.75 Mb. Parts of bovine LEPR exon 4 (79 bp), exon 11 (95 bp) and exon 20 (513 bp) of 20 cows (Holstein-Friesian) were sequenced (AJ580799; AJ580800; AJ580801) in an attempt to find polymorphisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeptin is a hormone produced by adipocytes, and its expression is regulated by body fatness and energy balance. This study describes the association of four leptin gene polymorphisms in dairy cows (R4C, A59V, RFLP1, and BM1500) with circulating leptin concentrations during the periparturient period. A59V is located at a between-species conserved region of leptin, and R4C might have effect on the tertiary structure of the leptin protein because of the presence of an extra cystein.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objective of this study was to describe fluctuations in leptin concentrations during late pregnancy and lactation and to investigate how those fluctuations are related to energy balance, milk yield, milk components, dry matter intake, live weight, first postpartum luteal activity, and first observed estrus during lactation. Live weight, dry matter intake, energy balance, and milk yield were measured weekly on 304 primiparous Holstein cows for the first 80 d of lactation. The first postpartum luteal activity was determined by measuring milk progesterone, and independently, first observed estrus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeptin is a 16-kDa protein synthesized by adipose tissue and is involved in regulation of feed intake, energy balance, fertility, and immune functions. Since evidence of a genetic correlation between start of luteal activity and energy balance, milk yield, and live weights is present, we investigated the association of genetic differences in the bovine leptin gene with these traits. Between 1990 and 1997, a total of 613 Holstein-Friesian heifers of two genetic groups with known pedigree were followed from parturition until d 105 of lactation.
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