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C Montecucco

Publications and source records attributed to C Montecucco.

At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Autoantibodies to RNA-polymerases in Italian patients with systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the frequency and clinical correlates of the systemic sclerosis-related autoantibodies to RNA polymerases in Italian patients. METHODS: Sera from 115 patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and 10 patients with systemic sclerosis-overlap syndromes recruited from a single center in northern Italy were investigated for antibodies to RNA polymerase I, II, and III by means of immunoprecipitation using 35S-labeled HeLa cell antigen extract. Twenty-five normal volunteers and 91 patients with different connective tissue diseases were studied as a control group. RESULTS: Antibodies to RNA-polymerases were found in 14/115 SSc patients (12.1%). None of the normal controls and none of the patients with other connective tissue diseases, including overlap syndromes, were positive. Antibodies reacting with RNA-polymerase I and III (+/- RNA-polymerase II) were found in 9/115 patients (7.8%) and were mutually exclusive with respect to other scleroderma-related autoantibodies. Isolated anti-RNA polymerase II reactivity was found in 5 patients and was associated with anti-topoisomerase I antibodies in 4 cases. Anti-RNA-polymerase I and III antibodies were associated with diffuse cutaneous involvement and male gender. Only two patients from our series had scleroderma renal crisis, and one of them had anti-RNA polymerase antibodies. CONCLUSIONS: Anti-RNA-polymerase antibodies appear to be less frequent in Italian patients than in Caucasian patients from the United Kingdom or USA. This might be associated with the lower frequency of scleroderma renal crisis.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Role of chemokines and chemokine receptors in regulating specific leukocyte trafficking in the immune/inflammatory response.

Antigen recognition, lymphocyte priming and effector responses in inflamed tissues depend on a coordinated and sequential series of events that take place in different anatomical compartments. The integration of these processes is favoured by the dynamic capacity of leukocytes to recirculate between the bloodstream and specific organs and to navigate inside the tissues in a programmed fashion, regulated by a complex interaction of cell adhesion molecules and soluble chemoattractants, in particular chemokines. In this review we discuss the role of chemokines and chemokine receptors in regulating leukocyte trafficking in different anatomical sites in the context of distinct functional phases of the immune/inflammatory response.

Autoimmune Diseases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Antibodies to hn-RNP protein A1 in systemic lupus erythematosus: clinical association with Raynaud's phenomenon and esophageal dysmotility.

Antibodies to recombinant hn-RNP protein A1 were found by ELISA in sera from 26 out of 67 unselected patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. A higher number of anti-A1 positive patients had Raynaud's phenomenon (50% vs 7%) and esophageal dysmotility (42% vs 5%) than the anti-A1 negative patients. All 8 patients with both Raynaud's phenomenon and esophageal dysmotility had a positive anti-A1 assay. No association was found with other clinical findings, nor with disease activity and treatment regimes. Anti-A1 antibodies did not correlate with anti-RNP and anti-Sm antibodies, which were present in 30% and 12% of the anti-A1 positive cases and in 22% and 7% of the anti-A1 negative cases, respectively. Our results indicate that antibodies to hn-RNP protein A1 may be associated with a subset of SLE patients with clinical features overlapping those of progressive systemic sclerosis and quite distinct from the group identified by anti-RNP antibodies.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Localized and systemic forms of scleroderma in adults and children .

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) presents a great deal of variability in the extent and severity of skin and internal organ involvement. The diagnostic and prognostic significance of autoantibodies in SSc is undisputed and the patient's autoantibody profile represents a fundamental tool for clinicians. Scleroderma is a rare condition in children. Unlike adults, localized scleroderma is more frequent than the systemic sclerosis, nevertheless it represents a disabling condition. In both conditions, no validated outcome measures and proven effective treatment is available to date.Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is one the most common and significant clinical symptoms of SSc and therefore in patients with RP a capillaroscopic analysis should be carried out as soon as possible. The actual and select advantage of the early nailfold videocapillaroscopic (NVC) analysis is to distinguish between the primary RP and the secondary RP and to allow the early detection of SSc.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Diagnostic value of procalcitonin measurement in febrile patients with systemic autoimmune diseases.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the usefulness of plasma procalcitonin (PCT) measurement to suspect infectious etiology in febrile patients with systemic autoimmune disease. METHODS: PCT, C-Reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and white blood cell count (WBC) were measured in 44 consecutive inpatients with a diagnosis of systemic autoimmune disease and fever >38 masculine C. After careful microbiologic screening no obvious infection was demonstrated in 24 patients (Group A) while an infectious bacterial complication was diagnosed in 20 cases (Group B). RESULTS: Median PCT levels were significantly higher in the group B (1.11 vs 0.24 ng/ml; p = 0.0007), whereas the differences for CRP, WBC and ESR did not reach statistical significance. PCT also exhibited a good sensitivity and specificity (75%) in differentiating patients with infection from those with disease flare. With respect to positive and negative predictive values (71.4% and 78.2%), PCT markedly exceeded the other variables. By analyzing PCT values by disease we identified a false positive subgroup of patients suffering from adult onset Still's disease (AOSD), showing markedly elevated PCT levels in absence of infection. By excluding these patients, PCT showed a very good sensitivity and specificity (73.6% and 89.4%) and the area under receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve rose from 0.801 to 0.904. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that elevated PCT concentrations offer good sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of systemic bacterial infection in febrile patients with systemic autoimmune diseases. However, in fever associated with AOSD PCT may be elevated even in the absence of infectious complication.

Autoimmune Diseases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Recommendations for the use of biologic (TNF-alpha blocking) agents in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in Italy.

The present report is devoted to drawing up and disseminating specific recommendations for the use of anti-TNF-alpha therapies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Italy. The document reports and discusses the published literature concerning the criteria for inclusion, assessment of response and for withdrawal of treatment with TNF blocking agents in RA. Several specific points concerning more sensitive warnings are discussed: tuberculosis, hepatitis, lymphoma, and cardiovascular risk and induction of autoimmunity. The recommendations are summarized in an 8-point table approved by the executive committee of the Italian Society for Rheumatology.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Anticardiolipin syndrome in childhood: a report of two cases.

We describe two children with an otherwise unexplained deep vein thrombosis associated with high titer anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA) of the IgG class and circulating lupus anticoagulant (LAC). One of these patients had persistent proteinuria but neither had systemic lupus erythematosus. Our observation suggests that ACA and LAC assays should be performed in children with thromboembolic disease even when no underlying autoimmune disease can be found.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Autoantibodies in juvenile dermatomyositis.

Fourteen patients with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) have been investigated for the presence of several serum autoantibodies: antinuclear (ANA), anti-single-stranded and double-stranded DNA, anti-histones, anti-Sm, anti-ribonucleoprotein, anti-SSA/SSB, anti-PM-1, anti-Jo-1, anti-mitochondrial, anti-smooth muscle, anti-gastric parietal cells, anti-cardiolipin (ACA) antibodies and rheumatoid factor. Patients were negative for all autoantibodies except for ANA and ACA. ANA were detected in 50% of the patients when tested on rat liver, but the percentage of positivity rose to 86% when HEp-2 cells were used as substrate. This finding suggests that HEp-2 cells represent a more sensitive substrate than rat liver for the detection of ANA in JDM. Three patients were positive for ACA; two of these presented vascular complications, thus suggesting a possible relationship between ACA and vascular involvement in JDM.

Antibodies, Antinuclear↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Anti-SSB/La antibodies in Sjögren's syndrome and related autoimmune diseases. Results of a quantitative immunoassay using a highly purified antigen.

A quantitative immunoassay using a highly purified antigen from HeLa cells has allowed us to detect antibodies to SSB/La in 11/20 patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS), 15/33 with SLE, and 11/35 with progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS). However, positive results were found in only 2/12 patients with idiopathic Raynaud's disease and 2/20 with rheumatoid arthritis, including 4 with secondary SS. Anti-SSB/La were associated with extraglandular manifestations in primary SS, and with a diffuse sclerodermic pattern in PSS. In SS, SLE and PSS, a positive anti-SSB/La test was strongly associated with nodal or spleen enlargement and with an increased level of gamma-globulins. A direct association was also found with positive tests for rheumatoid factors, anti-SSA/Ro and anti-Scl 70. An inverse relationship was however found with anti-nRNP +/- Sm and anticentromere antibodies. Our data suggest that anti-SSB/La antibodies can be regarded as a marker of B-lymphocyte activation in patients with either primary SS, SLE or PSS.

Antibodies, Antinuclear↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hematological abnormalities associated with anticardiolipin antibodies.

Information about anticardiolipin antibodies in different autoimmune diseases has increased rapidly in the last few years. Clinical and laboratory associations with hematologic disturbances such as recurrent thromboses, lupus anticoagulant, autoimmune thrombocytopenia and positive Coombs' test have been reported in many studies. The present paper deals with a short review on the actual clinical significance of detection and measurement of anticardiolipin antibodies, as well as their putative role in different blood disorders.

Abortion, Habitual↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Anti-phospholipid antibodies and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Anti-phospholipid antibodies were measured in 9 patients with active thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). 8 patients had primary TTP and one had TTP secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). No patient showed circulating 'lupus' anticoagulants or false positive tests for syphilis. A solid phase immuno-assay for anti-cardiolipin antibodies (ACA) gave negative results in the patient with secondary TTP as well as in all but one case with primary TTP. ACA of IgG class were not found in any TTP patient while they were present in 10 out of 18 patients suffering from thrombocytopenia with active SLE. These data indicate that anti-phospholipid antibodies do not have a role in the development of thrombosis and thrombocytopenia with TTP.

Adolescent↗