High serum levels of galectins 1 and 4 in osteoarthritis patients.

BACKGROUND: Although immunostaining of galectins is associated with cartilage damage, the serum levels of these lectins in osteoarthritis (OA) are not fully understood. OBJECTIVE: Therefore, we evaluate the concentrations of galectins-1, 3, 4, and 7 in patients with osteoarthritis and correlate them with clinical parameters. METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved 60 osteoarthritis patients and 43 healthy volunteers, who had serum samples collected for galectins titration by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Our finds showed that the median values of gal-1 and 4 serum levels in patients were statistically higher (13,990 and 969.1 pg/mL, respectively) than in healthy controls (1,798 and 519.5 pg/mL) with p < 0.001. Further, gal-1 expressed higher levels in patients who had joint edema at the time of collection with a median value of 14,970 pg/mL. CONCLUSION: Surprisingly, galectin-4 appears to be involved in the osteoarthritis inflammation process as the well-known galectin-1.

Treatment with biological therapy is associated with faster recovery and lower frequency of treatment switch among rheumatic patients with Chikungunya fever.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The effects of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection on patients with rheumatic diseases have not been extensively studied. Our aim was to compare the clinical course of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis, categorized according to the use or not of biologic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs), during and after infection by CHIKV. METHODS: Patients from a northeastern Brazilian city that suffered an epidemic outbreak of Chikungunya fever (CHIK) between Oct 2015 and Jul 2016, on regular follow-up in a longitudinal registry of rheumatic patients (BiobadaBrasil), were invited to participate. Participants underwent a standardized clinical interview and collection of blood sample for serological tests (IgM/IgG) for CHIKV. A positive IgG was considered evidence of previous CHIKV infection. RESULTS: 105 patients (84 with rheumatoid arthritis, 17 with ankylosing spondylitis, and 4 with psoriatic arthritis) were evaluated. Most patients (58, 55.2%) were on therapy with bDMARDs. The overall prevalence of seropositivity for CHIKV was 47.6% (39.7% in patients on bDMARDs and 57.4% in those exclusively on conventional synthetic (cs-) DMARDs (p = 0.070). Among seropositive patients, asymptomatic disease had similar frequency in those treated and not treated with bDMARDs (39.1% versus 33.3%, respectively; p = 0.670). However, patients exclusively on csDMARDs presented significantly higher prevalence of articular symptoms beyond 3 months and switched treatment more often than patients on bDMARDs (p < 0.05 for both comparisons). CONCLUSIONS: Among rheumatic patients with CHIK, those on bDMARDs had shorter persistence of articular symptoms and switched treatment scheme less often than patients exclusively treated with csDMARDs.

Evaluation of long-term stability of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid extracted from human nasopharyngeal samples.

The maintenance of SARS-Cov-2 RNA samples poses a new challenge for laboratories and researchers. In addition, it is a requirement in order to identify what strain of the new coronavirus is predominant in a region, for instance. Therefore, it is a must to keep the quality and viability of stored RNA to respond to this and other valid questions. In other to test the quality of our samples and storing protocols, we randomly checked RNA samples four different times over one year using a second RT-PCR assay after the first test. The virus genes, N1 and N2, showed no significant increase in the media of the CT value between the first assay and subsequent times with p > 0.05. However, the human RP gene showed differences in the first three times analyzed, but within the acceptable sample cut-off, according to the test manufacturer. After one year, the RNA extracted from human nasopharyngeal specimens are viable to detect the virus SARS-CoV-2 genes with minor changes.

Atorvastatin inhibits IL-17A, TNF, IL-6, and IL-10 in PBMC cultures from patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by joint damage, and it may present with comorbidities at the systemic level. The Th1/Th2/Th17 CD4+ lymphocyte imbalance produces inflammatory cytokines, which begin to act, injuring joint tissue. Atorvastatin is a cholesterol- lowering drug with a range of biological effects including anti-inflammatory potential. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who used statins exhibited clinical improvement. However, the mechanism is not fully understood. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the RA immunomodulatory activity of atorvastatin. METHODS: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of RA patients and healthy donors were exposed to atorvastatin in different concentrations following a cytotoxicity assay. Th1, Th2, and Th17 cytokines profiles were evaluated in the culture supernatant by cytometric bead array (CBA). Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon test, and differences were considered significant when p < 0.05. RESULTS: Atorvastatin showed no toxicity at the tested doses in RA PBMC cultures, and at 10µM, it showed the most significant results, reducing IL-17A (p = 0.002), TNF (p = 0.002), and IL-6 (p = 0.008) supernatant levels. The outcomes also revealed that only patients with more severe disease activity and those sensitive to corticoid treatments were responders to atorvastatin in vitro. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest the potential immunomodulatory action of atorvastatin as a mechanism in rheumatoid arthritis treatment.

Study of the Potential Radiomitigator Effect of Quercetin on Human Lymphocytes.

Several substances of synthetic and natural origin have been studied to determine their ability to protect the body from damage caused by ionizing radiation. Among these substances, quercetin has been shown to be a naturally occurring molecule with high radioprotective and radiomitigator potential due to its antioxidant properties. The objective of this work was to ascertain the potential radiomitigator effect of quercetin on chromosome aberration yield in lymphocytes of in vitro-irradiated human peripheral blood. At first, the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl) radical capture test was performed to determine the antioxidant activity of quercetin and to select the concentrations to be tested. The blood was irradiated at doses of 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5 Gy and lymphocytes were cultured with quercetin at preselected concentrations of 37.5 and 75 µM. Then, the slides were prepared for scoring unstable chromosome aberrations (dicentrics, rings, and fragments). The results showed that the lymphocytes irradiated and later exposed to quercetin presented a lower frequency of chromosomal alterations compared to the control sample which was irradiated and not exposed to quercetin. The results suggest a potential radiomitigator effect of the flavonoid quercetin on human lymphocytes exposed, in vitro, to ionizing radiation. This effect may be related to decrease in the release of cytokines (INF-γ, PGE2, IL-1ß, IL6, IL-8) involved in the proinflammatory processes as well as downregulation of NF-kB and reduction of expression TGF-ß.

Corticosteroid inhibits chemokines production in systemic sclerosis patients.

In this study, we evaluated glucocorticoids (GC) effects on cytokine/chemokine levels in serum samples and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) production from systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. We evaluated cytokine and chemokine levels in serum samples from SSc patients taking or not taking systemic glucocorticoids. PBMCs response to methylprednisolone (MP) was examined from 15 SSc patients and 8 healthy control subjects following PBMC stimulation with anti-CD3/CD28. Cytokine (IFN-γ, TNF, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-17A) and chemokine (CXCL8/IL-8, CCL5/RANTES, CXCL9/MIG, CCL2/MCP-1, and CXCL10/IP-10) levels were quantified in serum and in PBMC culture supernatants by CBA or ELISA. Compared with patients not taking corticosteroids, we did not observe any significant differences in cytokines/chemokines serum levels in patients using systemic corticosteroids. After stimulation with anti-CD3/CD28, PBMCs treated with MP (100µM), showed a significant reduction of CCL2/MCP-1 (p=0.001), CCL5/RANTES (p=0.04), and CXCL8/IL-8 (p=0.003) levels in SSc patients. In PBMC from healthy controls, we observed decreased IFN-γ, TNF, IL-2, and IL-10 levels after MP treatment, compared with stimulated condition (p<0.01 for all). However in SSc patients, we did not find any significant reduction in these cytokine levels after MP treatment. In conclusion, CCL2/MCP-1, CCL5/RANTES, and CXCL8/IL-8 are chemokines that are potentially modulated by corticosteroids in vitro in SSc patients, but no effect was observed on IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, TFN, and IFN-γ secretion. These results suggest a potential effect of GCs on SSc treatment and may reflect the benefit of their use in some patients.

Increased IL17A, IFNG, and FOXP3 Transcripts in Moderate-Severe Psoriasis: A Major Influence Exerted by IL17A in Disease Severity.

Psoriasis is a chronic and recurrent dermatitis, mediated by keratinocytes and T cells. Several proinflammatory cytokines contribute to formation and maintenance of psoriatic plaque. The Th1/Th17 pathways and some of IL-1 family members were involved in psoriasis pathogenesis and could contribute to disease activity. Therefore, we sought to analyse skin transcript levels of IL17A, IL22, RORC, IL8, IFNG, IL33, IL36A, FOXP3, and IL10 and correlate with clinic of patients with plaque-type psoriasis. In order to conduct that, we collected punch biopsies from lesional skin and obtained tissue RNA. After reverse transcription, qRT-PCR quantified the relative mRNA expression. The main results revealed increased transcripts levels of IL17A, IFNG, and FOXP3 in moderate-severe patients. Despite this, only IL17A can increase the chance to worsen disease severity. We also observed many significant positive correlations between each transcript. In conclusion, IL17A is elevated in lesional skin from psoriasis patients and plays crucial role in disease severity.

IL-17A, IL-22, IL-6, and IL-21 Serum Levels in Plaque-Type Psoriasis in Brazilian Patients.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by alterations in cytokines produced by both Th1 and Th17 pathways. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum levels of pivotal cytokines and correlate them with clinical parameters. Serum samples from 53 psoriasis patients and 35 healthy volunteers, matched by the proportion of sex and age ratios, were collected for ELISA cytokine detection. Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) was assessed at the time of sampling in psoriasis patients. Our findings demonstrate that IL-17A, IL-22, and IL-6 serum concentrations were significantly higher in psoriasis patients than in the control group. No statistical correlation could be found between cytokines concentrations, PASI score, and age in this study. Although our results do not show any correlation between serum levels of IL-17A, IL-22, and IL-6 and disease activity, the present study confirms that they were increased in Brazilian psoriasis patients in comparison to healthy volunteers.

Synthesis of a novel thiazolidinedione and evaluation of its modulatory effect on IFN- γ , IL-6, IL-17A, and IL-22 production in PBMCs from rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease frequently characterized by chronic synovitis of multiple joints. The pathogenesis of RA is complex and involves many proinflammatory cytokines as Th17 related ones. PPAR γ is a nuclear receptor activator that represses proinflammatory gene expression. Thus, this work aimed to synthetize a new thiazolidinedione (TZD) analogue based on a well-known anti-inflammatory and PPAR γ agonist activity of this ring and evaluate its anti-inflammatory activity. After chemical structure confirmation, the compound named 5-(5-bromo-2-methoxy-benzylidene)-3-(2-nitro-benzyl)-thiazolidine-2,4-dione TM17 was submitted to cytokine releasing inhibition and PPAR γ genetic modulation assays. The new compound showed no toxicity on human and murine cells, decreasing IL-6 secretion by murine splenocytes and reducing IL-17A, IL-22, and IFN- γ expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with RA. TM17 was more efficient in modulating the mRNA expression of PPAR γ than its well-used TZD agonist rosiglitazone. Surprisingly, TM17 was efficient on IL-17A and IFN- γ reduction, like the positive control methylprednisolone, and presented a better effect on IL-22 levels. In conclusion, PBMCs obtained from RA patients under TM17 treatment present a significant reduction in IL-17A, IL-22, and IFN- γ levels, but not IL-6 when compared with nontreated cells, as well as increase PPAR γ mRNA expression in absence of stimulus addressing it as a promising molecule in RA treatment.

Cratylia mollis 1, 4 lectin: a new biotechnological tool in IL-6, IL-17A, IL-22, and IL-23 induction and generation of immunological memory.

Cratylia mollis lectin has already established cytokine induction in Th1 and Th2 pathways. Thereby, this study aimed to evaluate Cramoll 1, 4 in IL-6, IL-17A, IL-22, and IL-23 induction as well as analyze immunologic memory mechanism by reinducing lymphocyte stimulation. Initially we performed a screening in cultured splenocytes where Cramoll 1, 4 stimulated IL-6 production 5x more than ConA (P < 0.05). The same behavior was observed with IL-22 where the increase was greater than 4x. Nevertheless, IL-17A induction was similar for both lectins. In PBMCs, the same splenocytes course was observed for IL-6 and IL-17A. Concerning the stimulation of IL-22 and IL-23 Cramoll 1, 4 was more efficient than ConA in cytokines stimulation mainly in IL-23 (P < 0.01). Analyzing reinduced lymphocyte stimulation, IL-17A production was higher (P < 0.001) when the first stimulus was realized with Cramoll 1, 4 at 1 µ g/mL and the second at 5 µ g/mL. IL-22 shows significant differences (P < 0.01) at the same condition. Nevertheless, IL-23 revels the best response when the first stimuli was realized with Cramoll1, 4 at 100 ng/mL and the second with 5 µ g/mL. We conclude that the Cramoll 1, 4 is able to induce IL-6, IL-17A, IL-22, and IL-23 cytokines in vitro better than Concavalin A, besides immunologic memory generation, being a potential biotechnological tool in Th17 pathway studies.