Serum Levels of α-Klotho, Inflammation-Related Cytokines, and Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients.

It has been hypothesized that α-Klotho deficiency might contribute to chronic inflammation in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), especially those on hemodialysis (HD). Serum Klotho levels by some authors are considered a potential predictor of cerebrovascular events. Therefore, we analyzed serum levels of α-Klotho with ELISA and inflammation-related cytokines in HD patients.

The in vitro modulatory effect of TNFα on the mRNA expression and protein levels of zinc finger protein ZNF334 in CD4(+) lymphocytes of healthy people.

We have shown before that the expression of ZNF334 gene, coding for a newly described zinc finger protein of as yet unknown function, is extremely reduced in CD4(+) lymphocytes of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients regardless of their age, and thus can be considered a new molecular marker of the disease. Based on the promoter sequence of the gene we speculated that it might be regulated by TNFα. Here we have tested that hypothesis, studying the in vitro influence of TNFα on the ZNF334 gene expression and protein levels in resting and stimulated CD4(+) cells of healthy volunteers.

Disease activity in patients with long-lasting rheumatoid arthritis is associated with changes in peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations.

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease and it is known that lymphocytes play a major role in its pathogenesis. However, there have been no comprehensive studies on the changes in peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) subpopulations expressing different clusters of differentiation (CD) in patients with long-lasting RA.

Objectives: The aim of our study was to measure the main subpopulations of PBL, expression of costimulatory marker CD28, and activation status of CD4+ T cells depending on clinical disease activity in long-lasting RA.

Varying expression of four genes sharing a common regulatory sequence may differentiate rheumatoid arthritis from ageing effects on the CD4(+) lymphocytes.

The CD28 gene is similarly down-regulated in CD4(+) lymphocytes from both healthy elderly people and patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) because of impaired protein-binding activity of the 'α' sequence in its promoter region. Other genes important for the CD4(+) cell function may share that sequence and may be similarly regulated and affected. We searched GenBank for possible 'α' homologues and then compared transcriptional activities of the respective genes in the CD4(+) cells of young and older healthy individuals and those with RA by real-time PCR.

Klotho--a common link in physiological and rheumatoid arthritis-related aging of human CD4+ lymphocytes.

Human CD4(+) T lymphocytes undergo aging-related changes leading to decreased immunity to infections and neoplasms, and to increased frequency of autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Certain changes, observed in the CD4(+) cells of RA patients, resemble those observed during physiological aging, but occur at earlier age. Underlying cellular mechanism(s) of these similarities are so far largely unknown.