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New Insights into Connective Tissue Disorders
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New Insights into Connective Tissue Disorders

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2022) | Viewed by 4927

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Isao Matsumoto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
Interests: rheumatology; autoimmune diseases; autoantibodies; T helper cells; cytokines; pathogenesis; biomarker

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Dramatic advances in the management of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases are ongoing. The earliest possible diagnosis and active intervention are recommended, with the goal of inducing and maintaining remission. Currently, many types of drugs targeting T and B cells, innate immune cells, inflammatory cytokines, and JAKs are available, but treatment efficacy varies due to the hetrogeneity of the diseases. Composite measures are useful for validating disease activity, since specific, single biomarkers are not known. A prominent feature of autoimmune diseases is the production of autoantibodies and autoreactive T cells. The target antigens of specific autoantibodies have been identified for several autoimmune diseases, but the related pathogeneses are mostly unknown. Also, their links to innate immune cascades and thereapies still need to be clarified.

The aim of the Special Issue is to highlight new developments in our understanding of connective tissue diseases, including their diagnosis, treatment, biomarkers, pathogenesis, and molecular mechanisms. The articles focusing on human immunology and its connective tissue disorders are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Isao Matsumoto
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Autoimmune diseases
  • Biomarkers
  • Autoantibody
  • Autoreactive T cells
  • Diagnosis
  • Biologics and JAK inhibitor
  • Pathogenesis

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 300 KiB  
Article
Adiposity Is Related to Inflammatory Disease Activity in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
by Gisela Diaz-Cordovés Rego, Esmeralda Núñez-Cuadros, Natalia Mena-Vázquez, Soledad Aguado Henche, Rocío Galindo-Zavala, Sara Manrique-Arija, Laura Martín-Pedraz, Rocio Redondo-Rodríguez, Francisco Javier Godoy-Navarrete and Antonio Fernández-Nebro
J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(17), 3949; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10173949 - 31 Aug 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1451
Abstract
Objective: To identify factors associated with the higher proportion of fatty tissue and overweight/obesity observed in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Patients and methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 80 JIA patients aged 4–15 years with 80 age- and sex-matched healthy [...] Read more.
Objective: To identify factors associated with the higher proportion of fatty tissue and overweight/obesity observed in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Patients and methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 80 JIA patients aged 4–15 years with 80 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Body composition was assessed using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. The 27-joint Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity score (JADAS27) was calculated. Two multivariate models were constructed to identify factors associated with overweight/obesity and fat mass index (FMI). Results: No differences were found between cases and controls in body mass index (BMI) or body composition. However, compared with controls, patients with a high inflammatory activity (JADAS27 > 4.2 for oligoarticular JIA or >8.5 for polyarticular disease) had higher values for BMI (p = 0.006); total fat mass (p = 0.003); FMI (p = 0.001); and fat in the legs (p = 0.001), trunk (p = 0.001), and arms (p = 0.002). The factors associated with overweight/obesity in patients were the duration of therapy with biological drugs, measured in months (OR [95% CI] = 1.12 [1.02–1.04]; p = 0.037), and physical activity (OR [95% CI] = 0.214 [0.07–0.68]; p = 0.010), while the factors associated with FMI were age (β [95% CI] = 0.30 [0.17–1.41]; p = 0.014), JADAS27 (β [95% CI] = 0.45 [0.16–1.08]; p = 0.009), and physical activity (β [95% CI] = −0.22 [−5.76 to 0.29]; p = 0.031). Conclusion: Our study revealed no differences between JIA patients with well-controlled disease and low disability and the healthy population in BMI or body composition. Furthermore, the association observed between inflammatory activity and adiposity could be responsible for poorer clinical course. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Connective Tissue Disorders)
10 pages, 704 KiB  
Article
Serum Amphiregulin and Heparin-Binding Epidermal Growth Factor as Biomarkers in Patients with Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy
by Norio Hanata, Yasuo Nagafuchi, Yusuke Sugimori, Satomi Kobayashi, Yumi Tsuchida, Yukiko Iwasaki, Hirofumi Shoda and Keishi Fujio
J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(16), 3730; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10163730 - 22 Aug 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2546
Abstract
Background. The epidermal growth factors amphiregulin (AREG) and heparin-binding epidermal growth factor (HB-EGF) are implicated in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune diseases, but their clinical and pathological roles in idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) are unclear. Methods. Serum AREG and HB-EGF levels were measured [...] Read more.
Background. The epidermal growth factors amphiregulin (AREG) and heparin-binding epidermal growth factor (HB-EGF) are implicated in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune diseases, but their clinical and pathological roles in idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) are unclear. Methods. Serum AREG and HB-EGF levels were measured by ELISA in patients with IIM (n = 37), systemic sclerosis (n = 17), and rheumatoid arthritis (n = 10), and for seven age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs). Associations between serum AREG or HB-EGF levels and the clinical parameters were analyzed. Results. Serum AREG levels in IIM patients were significantly elevated compared to those in HCs (median, 20.7 and 10.7 pg/mL, respectively; p = 0.025). In particular, serum AREG levels in IIM patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) were higher than those of HCs (22.4 pg/mL, p = 0.027). The disease duration in patients with elevated serum AREG levels was significantly shorter compared to those who had normal serum AREG levels (7 and 21 months, respectively; p = 0.0012). Serum HB-EGF levels were significantly increased in IIM patients with elevated CK levels (136.2 pg/mL; p = 0.020) and patients with anti-Mi-2 antibody (183.7 pg/mL; p = 0.045) compared to those in HCs (74.9 pg/mL). Conclusion. These results suggested that AREG could be a promising biomarker associated with early-phase IIM-related ILD, and that HB-EGF expression was associated with muscle injury and regeneration in IIM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Connective Tissue Disorders)
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