Fibroblast activation protein inhibitor positron emission tomography imaging in muscles of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy.

Objectives: Mesenchymal stromal cells in muscles participate in regeneration following muscle injury. This study explored the potential of [18F]fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI)-42 positron emission tomography (PET) targeting mesenchymal stromal cells to evaluate disease activity of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM).

Methods: Patients with IIM (n = 26) were prospectively included and underwent [18F]FAPI-42 PET/CT and whole-body MRI between January 2023 and July 2023.

Intermittent administration of PTH for the treatment of inflammatory bone loss does not enhance entheseal pathological new bone formation.

Objective: To investigate the effect of intermittent parathyroid hormone (iPTH) administration on pathological new bone formation during treatment of ankylosing spondylitis-related osteoporosis.

Methods: Animal models with pathological bone formation caused by hypothetical AS pathogenesis received treatment with iPTH. We determined the effects of iPTH on bone loss and the formation of pathological new bone with micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and histological examination.

Response to belimumab among patients with refractory lupus nephritis: a real-world observational retrospective multicenter study.

Objectives: Belimumab is a biological agent approved for the treatment of active lupus nephritis (LN), but its efficacy on refractory lupus nephritis (LN) is unknown. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of belimumab in Chinese patients with refractory LN.

Methods: This multicenter, observational, and retrospective study enrolled patients with refractory LN who failed induction therapy with steroids, cyclophosphamide, mycophenolate, and calcineurin inhibitors and received 24-week belimumab treatment before data analysis.

Pregnancy Outcomes in Patients with Primary Sjögren's Syndrome Undergoing Assisted Reproductive Therapy: A Multi-center Retrospective Study.

Introduction: The aim of this work was to investigate the pregnancy outcomes in infertile patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) undergoing assisted reproductive therapy (ART).

Methods: A multi-center retrospective study was performed in pregnant women with pSS and ART from five tertiary hospitals from Guangdong Province from 2013 to 2022. Natural planned pregnancy in pSS and healthy people undergoing ART were selected as controls.

Pregnancy outcomes in patients receiving assisted reproductive therapy with systemic lupus erythematosus: a multi-center retrospective study.

Objectives: To evaluate the safety, efficacy, and maternal and fetal outcomes of assisted reproductive therapy (ART) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: Patients from three tertiary hospitals from Guangzhou, China followed-up from 2013 to 2022 were included retrospectively. Patients with planned or unplanned natural pregnancy were chosen as controls.

Clinical Characteristics and Associated Factors for Infection and in-Hospital Mortality in Inpatients with Polymyositis/Dermatomyositis in China: A Retrospective Study.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical features of infection, and associated factor for in-hospital mortality in a southern Chinese cohort with polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM).

Patients And Methods: Clinical data were retrospectively reviewed from 2015 to 2022 from a tertiary hospital in southern China. Associated factors for infection and in-hospital mortality were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Piezo1-mediated mechanotransduction promotes entheseal pathological new bone formation in ankylosing spondylitis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the role of Piezo1-mediated mechanotransduction in entheseal pathological new bone formation and to explore the underlying molecular mechanism.

Methods: Spinal ligament tissues were collected from 14 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and 14 non-AS controls and bulk RNA sequencing was conducted. Collagen antibody-induced arthritis models were established to observe pathological new bone formation.

CXCL12/CXCR4-Rac1-mediated migration of osteogenic precursor cells contributes to pathological new bone formation in ankylosing spondylitis.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by inflammatory back pain and spinal ankylosis due to pathological new bone formation. Here, we identified CXCL12 as a critical contributor to pathological new bone formation through recruitment of osteogenic precursor cells (OPCs). CXCL12 was found highly expressed in the regions that would potentially develop pathological new bone.

Aberrant upregulation of CaSR promotes pathological new bone formation in ankylosing spondylitis.

Pathological new bone formation is a typical pathological feature in ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and the underlying molecular mechanism remains elusive. Previous studies have shown that the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is critical for osteogenic differentiation while also being highly involved in many inflammatory diseases. However, whether it plays a role in pathological new bone formation of AS has not been reported.

Infective patterns of cryptococcosis in patients with connective tissue disease: a retrospective study.

Objectives: To explore the clinical features and associated factors of cryptococcosis in patients with connective tissue disease (CTD) from Southern China.

Methods: Demographic and clinical data were collected between 2007 and 2018. Associated factors were analyzed by logistic regression analysis.

Infectious profile in inpatients with ANCA-associated vasculitis: a single-center retrospective study from Southern China.

Objectives: Infection is a common complication in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). The study goal was to investigate the infectious profile in patients with AAV from Southern China.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed on the inpatients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from 2012 to 2017.

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy associated with adverse pregnant outcomes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a multicenter retrospective study.

Background: Hypertension disorders in pregnancy (HDP) were common complications in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, the impact of HDP and the measures to prevent HDP-related fetal adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) remained to be explored.

Methods: A multicenter retrospective study of 342 pregnant women with SLE was performed.

Wnt4 signaling mediates protective effects of melatonin on new bone formation in an inflammatory environment.

Growing evidence shows that the inhibitory effect of inflammatory cytokines on new bone formation by osteogenic precursor cells is a critical cause of net bone-density reduction. Melatonin has been proven to be a potential therapeutic candidate for osteoporosis. However, whether it is capable of antagonizing the suppressing effect of inflammatory cytokines on osteogenic precursor cells is so far elusive.

Invasive mycoses in patients with connective tissue disease from Southern China: clinical features and associated factors.

Background: A retrospective study was performed to investigate the clinical features and associated factors of invasive mycoses (IM) in patients with connective tissue disease (CTD) from Southern China.

Methods: Demographic and clinical data were recorded. Associated factors were analyzed by logistic regression analysis.

Role of small ubiquitin-like modifier proteins-1 (SUMO-1) in regulating migration and invasion of fibroblast-like synoviocytes from patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is featured by erosive cartilage and bone destruction. The enhancing aggressive property of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) plays a critical role in this process. Small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) proteins, including SUMO-1, SUMO-2, SUMO-3 and SUMO-4, participate in regulating many cellular events such as survival, migration and signal transduction in some cell lines.

Fetal and Maternal Outcomes of Planned Pregnancy in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Retrospective Multicenter Study.

Objective: To investigate the fetal and maternal outcomes as well as predictors of APOs in women with SLE who conceived when the disease was stable, the so-called "planned pregnancy." . A retrospective multicenter study of 243 patients with SLE who underwent a planned pregnancy was performed.

Active tuberculosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus from Southern China: a retrospective study.

To investigate the characteristics and associated factors for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) infection in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) from Southern China. A retrospective study of 1108 patients admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University from January 2007 to December 2017 was performed. Demographic and clinical characteristics, laboratory data, and radiographic manifestations were recorded.

Long noncoding RNA LERFS negatively regulates rheumatoid synovial aggression and proliferation.

Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) are critical to synovial aggression and joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in RA is largely unknown. Here, we identified a lncRNA, LERFS (lowly expressed in rheumatoid fibroblast-like synoviocytes), that negatively regulates the migration, invasion, and proliferation of FLSs through interaction with heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein Q (hnRNP Q).

Role of foetal umbilical artery Doppler on prediction of adverse pregnancy outcomes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: To investigate the foetal outcomes and examine the predictive value of the third-trimester umbilical artery Doppler in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) pregnancies.

Methods: Data of 180 pregnancies in 175 SLE patients from Jan 2007 to Jan 2017 were analysed retrospectively. Pulsatility index (PI), resistance index (RI), and systolic/diastolic ratio (S/D) of the umbilical artery flow velocity data were monitored by Doppler ultrasound.

Inflammation Intensity-Dependent Expression of Osteoinductive Wnt Proteins Is Critical for Ectopic New Bone Formation in Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Objective: To investigate the molecular mechanism underlying inflammation-related ectopic new bone formation in ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Methods: Spinal tissues and sera were collected from patients with AS and healthy volunteers and examined for the expression of Wnt proteins. An in vitro cell culture system mimicking the local inflammatory microenvironment of bone-forming sites was established to study the relationship between inflammation and Wnt expression, the regulatory mechanism of inflammation-induced Wnt expression, and the role of Wnt signaling in new bone formation.

Herpes zoster in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: Clinical features, complications and risk factors.

Herpes Zoster (HZ) is reported as the most prevalent viral infection in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical features, complications, and potential risk factors of HZ in patients with SLE from Southern China. A retrospective study was performed among patients with SLE admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yet-Sen University (Guangzhou, China) between 2009 and 2013.

Hospital-acquired infection in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a case-control study in a southern Chinese population.

The objective of this study is to investigate the current situation of hospital-acquired infection (HAI) in lupus patients from a southern Chinese population. A case-control study was performed. Data from Jan.

Piperlongumine inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of fibroblast-like synoviocytes from patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: Recent studies have indicated that piperlongumine (PLM) may exert anti-inflammatory effects. In the present study, we determined the effect of PLM on the proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (referred to herein as RA FLS). We further explored the mechanisms by which the studied compound inhibits the functions of RA FLS.