Expression of activation-induced cytidine deaminase splicing variants in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

To investigate the expression patterns of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) variants in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and examine their clinical implications, we isolated PBMCs from healthy controls (HC, n = 33) and patients with AS (n = 62), and measured mRNA expression of AID variants and translesion synthesis (TLS) polymerases using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The proportion of patients with AS in whom AID splicing variant (sv) 2 was expressed was significantly higher than that of HC (p = .031).

Efficacy of tocilizumab therapy in Korean patients with adult-onset Still's disease: a multicentre retrospective study of 22 cases.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of tocilizumab (TCZ), a monoclonal antibody against the interleukin (IL)-6 receptor, for refractory adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) in the Korean population.

Methods: This retrospective study included 22 Korean patients with refractory AOSD who were given TCZ at one of seven university hospital-based clinics for rheumatic disease. Patients were subdivided into groups according to disease course: monocyclic, systemic polycyclic, and chronic articular.

Association of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of PADI4 and HLA-DRB1 Alleles with Susceptibility to Rheumatoid Arthritis-Related Lung Diseases.

Objective: Lung diseases (LD) are common extra-articular manifestations in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, little is known about factors associated with susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis-related lung diseases (RA-LD). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of PADI4 and HLA-DRB1 alleles were associated with RA-LD.

Visual Assessment of Chest Computed Tomography Findings in Anti-cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Antibody Positive Rheumatoid Arthritis: Is it Associated with Airway Abnormalities?

Introduction: We aimed to evaluate the association between specific anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (ACCPA) and pulmonary abnormalities in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) subjects.

Methods: Computed tomography (CT) images of 83 subjects with RA were evaluated in a blind fashion. Enrolled subjects underwent autoantibody testing to determinate titer of ACCPA and rheumatoid factor, and pulmonary function testing.

Genetic associations of leptin-related polymorphisms with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Leptin is abnormally elevated in the plasma of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), where it is thought to promote and/or sustain pro-inflammatory responses. Whether this association could reflect an increased genetic susceptibility to develop SLE is not known, and studies of genetic associations with leptin-related polymorphisms in SLE patients have been so far inconclusive. Here we genotyped DNA samples from 15,706 SLE patients and healthy matched controls from four different ancestral groups, to correlate polymorphisms of genes of the leptin pathway to risk for SLE.