Publications by authors named "Marzena Ciechomska"

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected all aspects of our lives. Through real-time monitoring and rapid vaccine implementation, we succeeded in suppressing the spread of the disease and mitigating its consequences. Finally, conclusions can be summarized and drawn.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

It is well known that fatigue is a highly disabling symptom commonly observed in inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRDs). Fatigue is strongly associated with a poor quality of life and seems to be an independent predictor of job loss and disability in patients with different rheumatic diseases. Although the pathogenesis of fatigue remains unclear, indirect data suggest the cooperation of the immune system, the central and autonomic nervous system, and the neuroendocrine system in the induction and sustainment of fatigue in chronic diseases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Despite the development of new biological and synthetic targeted therapies, methotrexate remains one of the most commonly used immunomodulatory drugs in rheumatology. However, its effect on the immunogenicity of vaccines has been studied only to a limited extent until recently, resulting in the lack of clear guidelines on the use of methotrexate during vaccination. Significant progress was made during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the dynamic development of research on vaccines, including patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: A number of studies have demonstrated a key role of miRNA isolated from cells, tissue or body fluids as disease-specific biomarkers of autoimmune rheumatic diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic sclerosis (SSc). Also, the expression level of miRNA is changing during disease development, therefore miRNA can be used as biomarkers monitoring RA progression and treatment response. In this study we have investigated the monocytes-specific miRNA that could serve as potential biomarkers of disease progression observed in sera and synovial fluids (SF) in early (eRA) and advanced (aRA) RA and in RA patients before and 3 months after selective JAK inhibitor (JAKi) -baricitinib treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Impaired immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccinations in inflammatory arthritis (IA) patients results in diminished immunity. However, optimal booster vaccination regimens are still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the kinetics of humoral and cellular responses in IA patients after the COVID-19 booster.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune chronic inflammatory disease that is still not well understood in terms of its pathogenesis and presents diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Monocytes are key players in initiating and maintaining inflammation through the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and S100 proteins in RA. This study aimed to test a specific DNA methylation inhibitor (RG108) and activator (budesonide) in the regulation of pro-inflammatory mediators-especially the S100 proteins.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease with systemic inflammation finally resulting in damaged joints. One of the RA development models suggests bone marrow (BM) as a place of inflammation development further leading to disease progression. We aimed to investigate the potential of CTLA-4-Fc molecule in inducing tolerogenic milieu in BM measured as indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) expression, CD4Foxp3 Treg induction, and T cell activation control.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Previous studies have shown a reduction in the effectiveness of primary COVID-19 vaccination in patients with rheumatic diseases. However, limited data is available regarding the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine booster dose, especially on cellular response. The study aimed to assess the humoral and cellular immunogenicity of a booster dose in patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Complex pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and systemic sclerosis (SSc) is associated with an imbalance of various Th-cell subpopulations. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the ability to restore this balance. However, bone marrow-derived MSCs of SLE and SSc patients exhibit many abnormalities, whereas the properties of adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCS) are much less known.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study aimed to investigate the associations of microRNA (miRs) signatures with cytokines, serum lipids, and disease activity in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In total, 65 patients (PsA = 25, AS = 25, RA = 15) and 25 healthy controls (HC) were enrolled into the study. The expression of miR-223-5p, miR-92b-3p, miR-485-3p, miR-10b-5p, let-7d-5p, miR-26a-2-3p, miR-146b-3p, and cytokines levels were measured in sera.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The biomaterial-cells interface is one of the most fundamental issues in tissue regeneration. Despite many years of scientific work, there is no clear answer to what determines the desired adhesion of cells and the synthesis of ECM proteins. Crystallinity is a characteristic of the structure that influences the surface and bulk properties of semicrystalline polymers used in medicine.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Monocytes/macrophages play a central role in chronic inflammatory disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Activation of these cells results in the production of various mediators responsible for inflammation and RA pathogenesis. On the other hand, the depletion of macrophages using specific antibodies or chemical agents can prevent their synovial tissue infiltration and subsequently attenuates inflammation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To explore global miRNA and transcriptomic profiling of monocytes from RA patients compared with healthy controls in order to predict which aberrantly expressed miRNA can negatively modulate inflammatory molecules.

Methods: Using next-generation sequencing, we have performed simultaneous global analysis of miRNA (miRNA-seq) and transcriptome (RNA-seq) of monocytes from RA patients and healthy controls. Global analysis of miRNA of SSc monocytes was also performed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects around 1.2% of the adult population. RA is one of the main reasons for work disability and premature retirement, thus substantially increasing social and economic burden.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The development of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) and target synthetic DMARDs (tsDMARDs), also known as small molecule inhibitors, represent a breakthrough in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment. The tsDMARDs are a large family of small molecules targeting mostly the several types of kinases, which are essential in downstream signaling of pro-inflammatory molecules. This review highlights current challenges associated with the treatment of RA using small molecule inhibitors targeting intracellular JAKs/MAPKs/NF-κB/SYK-BTK signaling pathways.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Dysregulation in type I IFN and IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) induced by monocytes is one of the key features of systemic sclerosis (SSc) pathogenesis. Abnormalities in microRNA (miRNA) expression are related to excessive IFN production, however the role of miRNA remains largely elusive in SSc monocytes. This study explores global miRNA-mRNA profiling of SSc monocytes and functional attenuation of IFN and ISGs by specific miRNAs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disease of unknown etiology that leads to progressive joint destruction and ultimately to disability. RA affects as much as 1% of the population worldwide. To date, RA is not a curable disease, and the mechanisms responsible for RA development have not yet been well understood.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this study, we analysed the expression level of sera circulating miRNA-5196 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients before and after tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α therapy as biomarkers predicting positive treatment outcome. We enrolled 10 RA patients, 13 AS patients, and 12 healthy individuals in the study. The expression of miRNA-5196 was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction before and after anti-TNF-α therapy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterised by vasculopathy, uncontrolled inflammation and enhanced fibrosis which can subsequently lead to the loss of organ function or even premature death. Interferons (IFNs) are pleiotropic cytokines that are critical not only in mounting an effective immune response against viral and bacterial infections but also strongly contribute to the pathogenesis of SSc. Furthermore, elevated levels of IFNs are found in SSc patients and correlate with skin thickness and disease activity suggesting potential role of IFNs as biomarkers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterised by tissue fibrosis and immune abnormalities. Recent evidence suggests that activated circulating monocytes from patients with SSc play an important role in early stages of SSc pathogenesis due to enhanced expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP-1), IL-8 and reactive oxygen species (ROS) induction. However, the exact factors that contribute to chronic inflammation and subsequently fibrosis progression are still unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

MicroRNA-146a (miR-146a) has been shown to play an important role in the regulation of inflammatory innate immune responses, and found to be differentially expressed in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Through NF-κB pathway, this molecule is able to stimulate the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-17. It has been also suggested that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in miRNA sequences may alter miRNA expression and that miR-146a rs2910164 SNP may contribute to RA development.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Systemic inflammatory rheumatic diseases are considered as autoimmune diseases, meaning that the balance between recognition of pathogens and avoidance of self-attack is impaired and the immune system attacks and destroys its own healthy tissue. Treatment with conventional Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (DMARDs) and/or Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) is often associated with various adverse reactions due to unspecific and toxic properties of those drugs. Although biologic drugs have largely improved the outcome in many patients, such drugs still pose significant problems and fail to provide a solution to all patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Systemic sclerosis is an autoimmune connective tissue disease in which T cells play a prominent role. We and others have previously demonstrated a role for T cell-derived IL-13 in mediating the induction of collagen in dermal fibroblasts and that blockade with IL-13 antibodies attenuates this increase. In this study we want to probe the signalling that underpins IL-13 mediated matrix deposition.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF