Antibody profiles in the mosaic of 'seronegative' APS syndrome.

Clinical manifestations, as distinct from thrombotic and obstetric morbidity, were recently included in the update of classification criteria of the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). However, the existence of several patients with clinical manifestations suggestive of APS, but negative for criteria antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) [anti-cardiolipin antibodies (aCL), anti-β2-glycoprotein I antibodies (aβ2-GPI), and lupus anticoagulant] may suggest an update of diagnostic criteria. In this study, we analysed the prevalence of six non-criteria aPLs in a large monocentric cohort of patients with seronegative APS (SN-APS), to investigate their possible diagnostic role.

Autophagy Promotes Enrichment of Raft Components within Extracellular Vesicles Secreted by Human 2FTGH Cells.

Autophagy plays a key role in removing protein aggregates and damaged organelles. In addition to its conventional degradative functions, autophagy machinery contributes to the release of cytosolic proteins through an unconventional secretion pathway. In this research, we analyzed autophagy-induced extracellular vesicles (EVs) in HT1080-derived human fibrosarcoma 2FTGH cells using transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Biological Effects of Small Sized Graphene Oxide Nanosheets on Human Leukocytes.

Since the discovery of graphene, there has been a wide range of the literature dealing with its versatile structure and easy binding of biomolecules as well as its large loading capacity. In the emerging field of immunotherapy, graphene and its derivatives have potential uses as drug delivery platforms directly into tumour sites or as adjuvants in cancer vaccines, as they are internalized by monocytes which in turn may activate adaptive anti-tumoral immune responses. In this study, we expose cells of the innate immune system and a human acute monocytic leukemia cell line (THP-1) to low doses of small-sized GO nanosheets functionalized with bovine serum albumin (BSA) and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), to study their acute response after internalization.

Role of Lipid Rafts on LRP8 Signaling Triggered by Anti-β2-GPI Antibodies in Endothelial Cells.

Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome is an autoimmune disease characterized by thrombosis and/or pregnancy morbidity in association with circulating antiphospholipid antibodies, mainly anti-β2 glycoprotein 1 antibodies (anti-β2-GPI antibodies). Previous studies demonstrated that the signaling pathway may involve lipid rafts, plasma membrane microdomains enriched in glycosphingolipid and cholesterol. In this study, we analyzed the signaling pathway of LRP8/ApoER2, a putative receptor of anti-β2-GPI antibodies, through lipid rafts in human endothelial cells.

The Role of Autophagy as a Trigger of Post-Translational Modifications of Proteins and Extracellular Vesicles in the Pathogenesis of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease, characterized by persistent joint inflammation, leading to cartilage and bone destruction. Autoantibody production is directed to post-translational modified (PTM) proteins, i.e.