Oxidised low-density lipoprotein and antibodies against oxidised low-density lipoprotein in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome.

Objectives: Recurrent thrombosis is one of the main clinical features of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), and recent studies revealed that APS shares similar pathophysiological mechanisms with atherosclerosis. Oxidised low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) and antibodies against OxLDL (anti-OxLDL) are involved in the development of atherosclerosis. This study aims to investigate the clinical significance of OxLDL and anti-OxLDL in APS patients.

A GITRL-mTORC1-GM-CSF Positive Loop Promotes Pathogenic Th17 Response in Primary Sjögren Syndrome.

Objective: Glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily-related protein (GITR), with its ligand (GITRL), plays an important role in CD4 T cell-mediated autoimmunity. This study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of GITRL in primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS).

Methods: Patients with pSS and healthy controls were recruited.

Clinical and immunological characteristics and prognosis of patients with autoantibody negative dermatomyositis: a case control study.

Objectives: Myositis-specific antibodies (MSAs) and myositis-associated antibodies (MAAs) are associated with distinctive dermatomyositis (DM) clinical phenotypes. The aim of this study is to explicate the clinical and immunological features of MSAs-negative DM patients.

Methods: A total of 515 individuals diagnosed with DM was screened from 2013 to 2022 and 220 DM patients were enrolled in this retrospective cohort.

Low dose versus standard dose rituximab for the treatment of antiphospholipid syndrome: A pilot study from a tertiary medical center.

Background: To investigate the therapeutic effects and safety of low-dose and standard-dose rituximab (RTX) in the treatment of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS).

Methods: In this real-world study, we included 22 consecutive patients with APS who received RTX. Standard dose (SD) was defined as an overall dosage of RTX ≥ 1000mg in the induction period, and low dose (LD) was defined as an overall dosage of RTX <1000mg.

Dynamics of T follicular helper cells in patients with rheumatic diseases and subsequent antibody responses in a three-dose immunization regimen of CoronaVac.

Given increased acceptance of the CoronaVac, there is an unmet need to assess the safety and immunogenic changes of CoronaVac in patients with rheumatic diseases (RD). Here we comprehensively analysed humoral and cellular responses in patient with RD after a three-dose immunization regimen of CoronaVac. RD patients with stable condition and/or low disease activity (n = 40) or healthy controls (n = 40) were assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive CoronaVac (Sinovac).

Risk Factors and Outcomes of Acute Myocardial Infarction in a Cohort of Antiphospholipid Syndrome.

Background: Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a disorder associated with thromboembolic diseases, including acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Given that AMI is a relatively common condition with poor prognostic features, identification of risk factors for AMI in APS is important.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed consisting of 332 patients with APS, and 239 patients with thrombotic APS were finally included.

Low Dose Interleukin-2 Ameliorates Sjögren's Syndrome in a Murine Model.

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune disease with no efficient treatment, and it is associated with dysregulated immune cells and impaired interleukin (IL)-2 signaling. IL-2 is critical for the development and maintenance of Treg cells. The use of low dose of IL-2 (LDIL-2) in the treatment of autoimmune diseases is promising, but the efficacy and mechanism in SS therapy are still to be confirmed.

Intestinal butyrate-metabolizing species contribute to autoantibody production and bone erosion in rheumatoid arthritis.

The imbalance between pathogenic and beneficial species of the intestinal microbiome and metabolism in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains unclarified. Here, using shotgun-based metagenome sequencing for a treatment-naïve patient cohort and a "quasi-paired cohort" method, we observed a deficiency of butyrate-producing species and an overwhelming number of butyrate consumers in RA patients. These outcomes mainly occurred in patients with positive ACPA, with a mean AUC of 0.

Red meat intake is associated with early onset of rheumatoid arthritis: a cross-sectional study.

Accumulating evidence has implicated dietary factors as important risks for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) development, but analyses of the effects of red meat consumption on RA have yielded diverging results. The aim of this study was to explore the association between red meat and RA in a large-scale, cross-sectional study. From June to December 2016, a total of 733 patients were investigated, from which 707 participants were included in the analysis.

Evaluation of soluble CD25 as a clinical and autoimmune biomarker in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objectives: Serum soluble CD25 (sCD25) is associated with T cell activation and regarded as a marker of disease activity in autoimmune disorders. The purpose of our study was to investigate the clinical relevance of sCD25 in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS).

Methods: Sixty-five pSS patients and 60 healthy controls (HCs) with comparable age and gender were recruited.

Predictors and Mortality of Rapidly Progressive Interstitial Lung Disease in Patients With Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy: A Series of 474 Patients.

This study was conducted to identify the characteristics and prognosis of rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD) in idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) and to assess the predictors for poor survival of RP-ILD in IIM. A total of 474 patients with IIM were enrolled retrospectively according to medical records from Peking University People's Hospital. Clinical and laboratory characteristics recorded at the diagnosis of patients with RP-ILD and chronic ILD (C-ILD) were compared.

Interleukin 17E associates with haematologic involvement and autoantibody production in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objectives: Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is one of the most prevalent systemic autoimmune diseases characterised by inflammation and tissue damage of exocrine glands, especially salivary or lacrimal gland. IL-17 related immune response is pathogenic with proinflammatory feature in pSS. However, whether IL-17E, an IL-17 family member, is involved in pSS pathogenesis or not, has not been determined.

Effect of sustained intensive therapy with disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in rheumatoid arthritis: a 5-year real-world consecutive study.

Background: Intensive therapy with disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) has been reported to improve the outcomes of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, real-world study on the effect of intensive therapy on RA sustained remission is still lacking. This study aimed to investigate the outcome of sustained intensive DMARD therapy (SUIT) for RA in a real-world 5-year consecutive cohort.

Tea Consumption Is Associated with Decreased Disease Activity of Rheumatoid Arthritis in a Real-World, Large-Scale Study.

Introduction: The role of tea consumption on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been studied in recent years, but no clear conclusion has been drawn as a result of small sample size of the studies or the fact that only in vitro studies have been performed.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the possible association of tea consumption with RA through a large-scale, real-world study.

Methods: A total of 733 RA patients were investigated from June to December, 2016.

Risk factors of interstitial lung diseases in clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis.

Background: Clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM) is a unique sub-type of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies with a high prevalence of interstitial lung disease (ILD). Poor prognosis of the patients was strongly associated with rapid progressive ILD. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for prediction of different types of ILD in CADM.

Clinical deep remission and related factors in a large cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Clinical remission is the treatment target in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study aimed to investigate clinical remission and related factors in a large cohort of patients with RA.

Methods: This study composed of 342 patients with RA.

The clinical significance of ubiquitin carboxyl hydrolase L1 and its autoantibody in neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: To identify specific cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers for the diagnosis and disease severity evaluation of neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE).

Methods: Patients presented with neuropsychiatric symptoms were recruited and categorised as 36 NPSLE, 19 SLE controls, 4 other connective tissue disease (CTD) controls and 10 nervous system disorder (NSD) controls. The NPSLE group consisted of severe NPSLE (sNPSLE) and mild NPSLE (mNPSLE).

Anti-tubulin-α-1C autoantibody in systemic lupus erythematosus: a novel indicator of disease activity and vasculitis manifestations.

A variety of autoantibodies has been involved in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), some of which are well known and applied as disease biomarkers. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of a novel autoantibody, anti-tubulin-α-1C, in patients with SLE and investigate its clinical significance. Anti-tubulin-α-1C autoantibody levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 128 SLE patients, 38 primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients, and 106 healthy controls (HCs).

Increased Interleukin-17F is Associated with Elevated Autoantibody Levels and More Clinically Relevant Than Interleukin-17A in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome.

Th17 related immune response is pathogenic in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). However, the role of IL-17F, one potent inflammatory member of IL-17 family cytokines in pSS, has not been specifically defined. We recruited one hundred and nine pSS patients and forty-two healthy controls and their serum levels of IL-17A and IL-17F were determined by multiplex cytokine assays.

CD16 Monocyte Subset Was Enriched and Functionally Exacerbated in Driving T-Cell Activation and B-Cell Response in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Background: The roles that CD16 monocyte subset plays in T-cell activation and B-cell response have not been well studied in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the distribution of CD16 monocyte subsets in SLE and explore their possible roles in T-cell activation and B-cell differentiation.

Methods: The frequencies of monocyte subsets in the peripheral blood of healthy controls (HCs) and patients with SLE were determined by flow cytometry.