Association of immunological cell profiles with specific clinical phenotypes of scleroderma disease.
José Manuel López-CachoSoledad GallardoManuel Posada-de-la-PazMiriam AguerriDavid CalzadaTeodoro MayayoMaría Luisa González-RodríguezAntonio María RabascoCarlos LahozBlanca CárdabaPublished in: BioMed research international (2014)
This study aimed to search the correlation among immunological profiles and clinical phenotypes of scleroderma in well-characterized groups of scleroderma patients, comparing forty-nine scleroderma patients stratified according to specific clinical phenotypes with forty-nine healthy controls. Five immunological cell subpopulations (B, CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cells, NK, and monocytes) and their respective stages of apoptosis and activation were analyzed by flow cytometry, in samples of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Analyses of results were stratified according to disease stage, time since the diagnosis, and visceral damage (pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, and cardiac affliction) and by time of treatment with corticosteroids. An increase in the percentages of monocytes and a decrease in the B cells were mainly related to the disease progression. A general apoptosis decrease was found in all phenotypes studied, except in localized scleroderma. An increase of B and NK cells activation was found in patients diagnosed more than 10 years ago. Specific cell populations like monocytes, NK, and B cells were associated with the type of affected organ. This study shows how, in a heterogeneous disease, proper patient's stratification according to clinical phenotypes allows finding specific cellular profiles. Our data may lead to improvements in the knowledge of prognosis factors and to aid in the analysis of future specific therapies.
Keyphrases
- end stage renal disease
- systemic sclerosis
- ejection fraction
- chronic kidney disease
- newly diagnosed
- pulmonary hypertension
- oxidative stress
- prognostic factors
- type diabetes
- healthcare
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- heart failure
- flow cytometry
- cell death
- dendritic cells
- metabolic syndrome
- rheumatoid arthritis
- coronary artery
- signaling pathway
- patient reported outcomes
- insulin resistance
- skeletal muscle
- pulmonary arterial hypertension
- idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis