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Hinchcliff M, Garcia-Milian R, Di Donato S, Dill K, Bundschuh E, Galdo FD. Cellular and Molecular Diversity in Scleroderma. Semin Immunol 2021; 58:101648. [PMID: 35940960 DOI: 10.1016/j.smim.2022.101648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
With the increasing armamentarium of high-throughput tools available at manageable cost, it is attractive and informative to determine the molecular underpinnings of patient heterogeneity in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Given the highly variable clinical outcomes of patients labelled with the same diagnosis, unravelling the cellular and molecular basis of disease heterogeneity will be crucial to predicting disease risk, stratifying management and ultimately informing a patient-centered precision medicine approach. Herein, we summarise the findings of the past several years in the fields of genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics that contribute to unraveling the cellular and molecular heterogeneity of SSc. Expansion of these findings and their routine integration with quantitative analysis of histopathology and imaging studies into clinical care promise to inform a scientifically driven patient-centred personalized medicine approach to SSc in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monique Hinchcliff
- Yale School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology, USA.
| | | | - Stefano Di Donato
- Raynaud's and Scleroderma Programme, Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Leeds, UK
| | | | - Elizabeth Bundschuh
- Yale School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology, USA
| | - Francesco Del Galdo
- Raynaud's and Scleroderma Programme, Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Leeds, UK.
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2
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Baker Frost D, Savchenko A, Ogunleye A, Armstrong M, Feghali-Bostwick C. Elucidating the cellular mechanism for E2-induced dermal fibrosis. Arthritis Res Ther 2021; 23:68. [PMID: 33640015 PMCID: PMC7913437 DOI: 10.1186/s13075-021-02441-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Both TGFβ and estradiol (E2), a form of estrogen, are pro-fibrotic in the skin. In the connective tissue disease, systemic sclerosis (SSc), both TGFβ and E2 are likely pathogenic. Yet the regulation of TGFβ in E2-induced dermal fibrosis remains ill-defined. Elucidating those regulatory mechanisms will improve the understanding of fibrotic disease pathogenesis and set the stage for developing potential therapeutics. Using E2-stimulated primary human dermal fibroblasts in vitro and human skin tissue ex vivo, we identified the important regulatory proteins for TGFβ and investigated the extracellular matrix (ECM) components that are directly stimulated by E2-induced TGFβ signaling. METHODS We used primary human dermal fibroblasts in vitro and human skin tissue ex vivo stimulated with E2 or vehicle (ethanol) to measure TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 levels using quantitative PCR (qPCR). To identify the necessary cell signaling proteins in E2-induced TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 transcription, human dermal fibroblasts were pre-treated with an inhibitor of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinase (ERK/MAPK) pathway, U0126. Finally, human skin tissue ex vivo was pre-treated with SB-431542, a TGFβ receptor inhibitor, and ICI 182,780, an estrogen receptor α (ERα) inhibitor, to establish the effects of TGFβ and ERα signaling on E2-induced collagen 22A1 (Col22A1) transcription. RESULTS We found that expression of TGFβ1, TGFβ2, and Col22A1, a TGFβ-responsive gene, is induced in response to E2 stimulation. Mechanistically, Col22A1 induction was blocked by SB-431542 and ICI 182,780 despite E2 stimulation. Additionally, inhibiting E2-induced ERK/MAPK activation and early growth response 1 (EGR1) transcription prevents the E2-induced increase in TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 transcription and translation. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that E2-induced dermal fibrosis occurs in part through induction of TGFβ1, 2, and Col22A1, which is regulated through EGR1 and the MAPK pathway. Thus, blocking estrogen signaling and/or production may be a novel therapeutic option in pro-fibrotic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- DeAnna Baker Frost
- Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA.
| | - Alisa Savchenko
- Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA
| | - Adeyemi Ogunleye
- Division of Plastic Surgery, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Milton Armstrong
- Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA
| | - Carol Feghali-Bostwick
- Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA
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3
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Mehta BK, Espinoza ME, Hinchcliff M, Whitfield ML. Molecular "omic" signatures in systemic sclerosis. Eur J Rheumatol 2020; 7:S173-S180. [PMID: 33164732 DOI: 10.5152/eurjrheum.2020.19192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disorder characterized by immunologic, vascular, and extracellular matrix abnormalities. Variation in the proportion and/or timing of activation in the deregulated molecular pathways that underlie SSc may explain the observed clinical heterogeneity in terms of disease phenotype and treatment response. In recent years, SSc research has generated massive amounts of "omics" level data. In this review, we discuss the body of "omics" level work in SSc and how each layer provides unique insight to our understanding of SSc. We posit that effective integration of genomic, transcriptomic, metagenomic, and epigenomic data is an important step toward precision medicine and is vital to the identification of effective therapeutic options for patients with SSc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bhaven K Mehta
- Department of Molecular and Systems Biology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Monica E Espinoza
- Department of Molecular and Systems Biology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Monique Hinchcliff
- Department of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Michael L Whitfield
- Department of Molecular and Systems Biology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, USA.,Department of Biomedical Data Science, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
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Fioretto BS, Rosa I, Romano E, Wang Y, Guiducci S, Zhang G, Manetti M, Matucci-Cerinic M. The contribution of epigenetics to the pathogenesis and gender dimorphism of systemic sclerosis: a comprehensive overview. Ther Adv Musculoskelet Dis 2020; 12:1759720X20918456. [PMID: 32523636 PMCID: PMC7236401 DOI: 10.1177/1759720x20918456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2019] [Accepted: 03/15/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a life-threatening connective tissue disorder of unknown etiology characterized by widespread vascular injury and dysfunction, impaired angiogenesis, immune dysregulation and progressive fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Over the past few years, a new trend of investigations is increasingly reporting aberrant epigenetic modifications in genes related to the pathogenesis of SSc, suggesting that, besides genetics, epigenetics may play a pivotal role in disease development and clinical manifestations. Like many other autoimmune diseases, SSc presents a striking female predominance, and even if the reason for this gender imbalance has yet to be completely understood, it appears that the X chromosome, which contains many gender and immune-related genes, could play a role in such gender-biased prevalence. Besides a short summary of the genetic background of SSc, in this review we provide a comprehensive overview of the most recent insights into the epigenetic modifications which underlie the pathophysiology of SSc. A particular focus is given to genetic variations in genes located on the X chromosome as well as to the main X-linked epigenetic modifications that can influence SSc susceptibility and clinical phenotype. On the basis of the most recent advances, there is realistic hope that integrating epigenetic data with genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic analyses may provide in the future a better picture of their functional implications in SSc, paving the right way for a better understanding of disease pathogenesis and the development of innovative therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bianca Saveria Fioretto
- Department of Experimental and Clinical
Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini
6, Florence, 50139, Italy
| | - Irene Rosa
- Department of Experimental and Clinical
Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of Florence and Scleroderma
Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi (AOUC),Florence, Italy
Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Section of Anatomy and
Histology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Eloisa Romano
- Department of Experimental and Clinical
Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of Florence and Scleroderma
Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi (AOUC), Florence,
Italy
| | - Yukai Wang
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology,
Shantou Central Hospital, Shantou, China
| | - Serena Guiducci
- Department of Experimental and Clinical
Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of Florence and Scleroderma
Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi (AOUC), Florence,
Italy
| | - Guohong Zhang
- Department of Pathology, Shantou University
Medical College, Shantou, China
| | - Mirko Manetti
- Department of Experimental and Clinical
Medicine, Section of Anatomy and Histology, University of Florence,
Florence, Italy
| | - Marco Matucci-Cerinic
- Department of Experimental and Clinical
Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of Florence and Scleroderma
Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi (AOUC), Florence,
Italy
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Chung MP, Dontsi M, Postlethwaite D, Kesh S, Simard JF, Fiorentino D, Zaba LC, Chung L. Increased Mortality in Asians With Systemic Sclerosis in Northern California. ACR Open Rheumatol 2020; 2:197-206. [PMID: 32198914 PMCID: PMC7164633 DOI: 10.1002/acr2.11126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective The objective of this study is to evaluate racial/ethnic differences in disease manifestations and survival in a US cohort of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), with a focus on Asian patients. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted among Kaiser Permanente Northern California adults with an incident SSc diagnosis by a rheumatologist from 2007 to 2016, confirmed by a chart review to fulfill 2013 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) classification criteria. Self‐reported race/ethnicity was categorized as non‐Hispanic white, Asian, Hispanic, and black. Disease manifestations and survival were compared, using white patients as the reference. Results A total of 609 patients with incident SSc were identified: 89% were women, and 81% had limited cutaneous SSc, with a mean age at diagnosis of 55.4 ± 14.8 years. The racial/ethnic distribution was 51% non‐Hispanic white (n = 310), 25% Hispanic (n = 154), 16% Asian (n = 96), and 8% black (n = 49). Compared with white patients, black patients had a greater prevalence of diffuse disease (14.5% vs. 44.9%; P < 0.001), and Asians had higher rates of anti‐U1‐RNP antibodies (32.1% vs. 11.9%; P = 0.005). Nine‐year overall survival rates following SSc diagnosis were lower in Asian (52.3%), black (52.2%), and Hispanic patients (68.2%) compared with white patients (75.8%). Pulmonary hypertension and infections were the leading causes of death in Asian patients. Asian race was associated with higher mortality on univariable (hazard ratio [HR] 1.83 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08‐2.99]; P = 0.020) and multivariable analyses (HR 1.80 [95% CI 0.99‐3.16]; P = 0.047) when adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, cutaneous subtype, smoking status, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, renal crisis, and malabsorption syndrome. Conclusion Asian patients with SSc in this US cohort had increased mortality compared with white patients. These patients warrant close monitoring for disease progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melody P Chung
- Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara, Santa Clara, California, and Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California
| | | | | | - Sumana Kesh
- Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara, Santa Clara, California
| | - Julia F Simard
- Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California
| | | | - Lisa C Zaba
- Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California
| | - Lorinda Chung
- Stanford University School of Medicine and Department of Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California
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Nihtyanova SI, Denton CP. Pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis associated interstitial lung disease. JOURNAL OF SCLERODERMA AND RELATED DISORDERS 2020; 5:6-16. [PMID: 35382227 PMCID: PMC8922569 DOI: 10.1177/2397198320903867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Accepted: 12/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Systemic sclerosis is an autoimmune disease leading to vasculopathy and fibrosis
of skin and internal organs. Despite likely shared pathogenic mechanisms, the
patterns of skin and lung fibrosis differ. Pathogenesis of interstitial lung
disease, a major cause of death in systemic sclerosis, reflects the intrinsic
disease pathobiology and is associated with distinct clinical phenotypes and
laboratory characteristics. The commonest histological pattern of systemic
sclerosis–interstitial lung disease is non-specific interstitial pneumonia.
Systemic sclerosis–interstitial lung disease pathogenesis involves multiple
components, including susceptibility and triggering factors, which could be
genetic or environmental. The process is amplified likely through ongoing
inflammation and the link between inflammatory activity and fibrosis with IL6
emerging as a key mediator. The disease is driven by epithelial injury,
reflected by markers in the serum, such as surfactant proteins and KL-6. In
addition, mediators that are produced by epithelial cells and that regulate
inflammatory cell trafficking may be important, especially CCL2. Other factors,
such as CXCL4 and CCL18, point towards immune-mediated damage or injury
response. Monocytes and alternatively activated macrophages appear to be
important. Transforming growth factor beta appears central to pathogenesis and
regulates epithelial repair and fibroblast activation. Understanding
pathogenesis may help to unravel the stages of systemic sclerosis–interstitial
lung disease, risks of progression and determinants of outcome. With this
article, we set out to review the multiple factors, including genetic,
environmental, cellular and molecular, that may be involved in the pathogenesis
of systemic sclerosis–interstitial lung disease and the mechanisms leading to
sustained fibrosis. We propose a model for the pathogenesis of systemic
sclerosis–interstitial lung disease, based on the available literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Svetlana I Nihtyanova
- Centre for Rheumatology and Connective Tissue Diseases, University College London, London, UK
| | - Christopher P Denton
- Centre for Rheumatology and Connective Tissue Diseases, University College London, London, UK
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HLA and autoantibodies define scleroderma subtypes and risk in African and European Americans and suggest a role for molecular mimicry. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 117:552-562. [PMID: 31871193 PMCID: PMC6955366 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1906593116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a clinically heterogeneous autoimmune disease characterized by mutually exclusive autoantibodies directed against distinct nuclear antigens. We examined HLA associations in SSc and its autoantibody subsets in a large, newly recruited African American (AA) cohort and among European Americans (EA). In the AA population, the African ancestry-predominant HLA-DRB1*08:04 and HLA-DRB1*11:02 alleles were associated with overall SSc risk, and the HLA-DRB1*08:04 allele was strongly associated with the severe antifibrillarin (AFA) antibody subset of SSc (odds ratio = 7.4). These African ancestry-predominant alleles may help explain the increased frequency and severity of SSc among the AA population. In the EA population, the HLA-DPB1*13:01 and HLA-DRB1*07:01 alleles were more strongly associated with antitopoisomerase (ATA) and anticentromere antibody-positive subsets of SSc, respectively, than with overall SSc risk, emphasizing the importance of HLA in defining autoantibody subtypes. The association of the HLA-DPB1*13:01 allele with the ATA+ subset of SSc in both AA and EA patients demonstrated a transancestry effect. A direct correlation between SSc prevalence and HLA-DPB1*13:01 allele frequency in multiple populations was observed (r = 0.98, P = 3 × 10-6). Conditional analysis in the autoantibody subsets of SSc revealed several associated amino acid residues, mostly in the peptide-binding groove of the class II HLA molecules. Using HLA α/β allelic heterodimers, we bioinformatically predicted immunodominant peptides of topoisomerase 1, fibrillarin, and centromere protein A and discovered that they are homologous to viral protein sequences from the Mimiviridae and Phycodnaviridae families. Taken together, these data suggest a possible link between HLA alleles, autoantibodies, and environmental triggers in the pathogenesis of SSc.
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Morgan ND, Gelber AC. African Americans and Scleroderma: Examining the Root Cause of the Association. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) 2019; 71:1151-1153. [DOI: 10.1002/acr.23860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nadia D. Morgan
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland
| | - Allan C. Gelber
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland
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Mielle J, Tison A, Cornec D, Le Pottier L, Daien C, Pers JO. B cells in Sjögren's syndrome: from pathophysiology to therapeutic target. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2019; 60:2545-2560. [PMID: 30770916 DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/key332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2018] [Revised: 09/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological abnormalities associated with B lymphocytes are a hallmark of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome. Those patients present abnormal distribution of B lymphocytes in peripheral blood and B cells in exocrine glands. B cells produce auto-antibodies, cytokines and present antigens but can also suppressive functions. In this review, we will summarize current knowledge on B cells in primary Sjögren's syndrome patients, demonstrate their critical role in the immunopathology of the disease and describe the past and current trials targeting B cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Mielle
- Departement of Rheumatology, UMR5535, Inflammation and Cancer, University of Montpellier and Teaching hospital of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Alice Tison
- UMR1227, Lymphocytes B et Autoimmunité, Université de Brest, Inserm, France.,Service de Rhumatologie, CHU de Brest, Brest, France
| | - Divi Cornec
- UMR1227, Lymphocytes B et Autoimmunité, Université de Brest, Inserm, France.,Service de Rhumatologie, CHU de Brest, Brest, France
| | | | - Claire Daien
- Departement of Rheumatology, UMR5535, Inflammation and Cancer, University of Montpellier and Teaching hospital of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
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