SOLANGE CARRASCO
Projetos de Pesquisa
Unidades Organizacionais
Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina
LIM/17 - Laboratório de Investigação em Reumatologia, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina
LIM/17 - Laboratório de Investigação em Reumatologia, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina
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conferenceObject DYNAMIC COLLAGEN V REMODELING IS RELATED TO SKIN THICKENING IN SSc(2012) MARTIN, P.; TEODORO, W. R.; VELOSA, A. P.; CARRASCO, S.; MORAIS, J. de; CHRISTMANN, R. B.; PARRAS, E. R.; CAPELOZZI, V. L.; YOSHINARI, N. H.Background. Normal physiological properties of skin, one of the primary organs affected in SSc, depends on collagen Types I (COL I), III (COLIII) and V (COLV) assembly forming heterotypic fibres. COLV regulates fibril diameter and loss of this function could result in tissue fibrosis. In this way, our aim was to evaluate the histological and molecular profiles of COLI, COLIII and COLV in SSc skin and its correlation with skin thickening and disease activity. Methods. Skin biopsies of 18 patients (5 at early and 13 at late disease stage) and 10 healthy controls were studied. Assessment of skin thickening was performed using the modified Rodnan skin score (MRSS) and disease activity was calculated by Valentini Disease Activity Index. Quantification of COLI, COLIII and COLV was evaluated by histomorphometry in dermis and quantitative RT–PCR in dermal fibroblast culture. Results. A higher expression of abnormal COLV was observed in dermis of patients with early disease when compared with control group and late disease. The COLIII content was also higher in early SSc when compared with healthy controls and late SSc. On the other hand, the amount of COLI was higher in late disease when compared with control and early SSc. A positive correlation between COLV and MRSS (r = 0.42, P = 0.04) as well as disease activity (r = 0.45, P = 0.03) was observed, but there was no correlation between COLI and COLIII expression and these parameters. COLV α-1 and COLV α-2, as well as COLI α-1 and COLIII α-1 mRNA expression were higher in SSc when compared with control group. Conclusion. We found increased COLIII and COLV deposition in early SSc and increased COLI expression in late SSc indicating that collagen remodelling in SSc is a dynamic process. The fact that abnormal COLV expression decreases in later disease stages could explain why skin thickening sometimes improves spontaneously with time. Besides, COLV is correlated to MRSS and disease activity. These findings include COLV as an important regulator of cutaneous thickness in SSc and may add this protein as a new target for future treatments.conferenceObject Altered Circulating Follicular Helper T Cell Phenotype and Subset Composition Are Associated with Disease Activity in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus(2012) HO, Hsi-en; CHOI, Jin Young; BUNIN, Viviane M.; PASOTO, Sandra G.; CARRASCO, Solange; BORBA, Eduardo F.; GONCALVES, Celio R.; COSTA, Priscila R.; KALLAS, Esper G.; BONFA, Eloisa; CRAFT, Joseph E.Background/Purpose: Autoreactive B cells in SLE undergo autoantigen selection, suggesting a requirement for germinal center follicular helper T (Tfh) cells in their maturation. However, evidence for dysregulation of Tfh cells in SLE and their potential contribution to disease remains unclear. Recently, blood CXCR5 CD4 T cells, a heterogeneous pool consisting of functionally distinct Th1-, Th2-, and Th17-like subsets, have been proposed to be the circulating counterpart of Tfh (cTfh) cells. We now ask if changes in cTfh markers or subset composition within blood CXCR5 cells are found in SLE patients, and the extent to which such alterations are associated with B cell and disease activity. Methods: Blood samples from 49 clinically well-characterized SLE patients, 28 Behc ̧et’s disease (BD) patients, and 16 healthy controls were included. Expression of Tfh surface markers (CXCR5; ICOS, inducible T-cell costimulator; PD-1, programmed cell death protein-1), composition of blood CXCR5 subsets, and frequency of plasmablasts were enumerated by flow cytometry. The phenotype of blood CXCR5 subsets was correlated with disease activity, clinical history, and plasmablast expansion. Results: SLE patients had significant expansion of CXCR5 ICOS PD-1 CD4 T cells compared to controls (p 0.001). PD-1, but not ICOS or CXCR5, expression was markedly elevated in CD4 T cells of SLE patients compared to BD patients and healthy controls (p 0.001). PD-1 MFI in CXCR5 cells correlated with SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI; Spearman r 0.43, p 0.03). PD-1 MFI also correlated with expansion of plasmablasts (Spearman r 0.34, p 0.02). In SLE patients with high anti-dsDNA antibody titers, PD-1 expression in CXCR5cells was also significantly elevated compared to patients with no detectable titers (p 0.004). Enhanced PD-1 expression was neither a function of disease duration nor past activity; rather, it reflected current disease activity. Compared to BD patients, SLE patients also had an increase in the CXCR5 Th2 (p 0.05) and a decrease in the Th17 (p 0.001) subsets. Concurrently, PD-1 expression in SLE patients was significantly higher in CXCR5 Th2 cells compared to Th17 cells (p 0.01). The expansion of the CXCR5 Th2 subset was also positively associated with SLEDAI scores. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that dysregulation of cTfh cells is strongly correlated with disease activity in SLE, supporting a potential causal relationship. The altered composition of blood CXCR5 cells also appeared to be a fundamental cellular defect in SLE, with our results revealing a novel dimension of Tfh dysregulation that may be central to disease pathogenesis.