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The impact of anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECAs) on the development of blood vessel damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: the preliminary study

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Abstract

Vascular injury represents one of the most frequent lesions in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aim of the study was to assess the influence of anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECAs) on the development of endothelial cell (EC) activation, dysfunction and subsequent vasculitis in women with SLE. Fifty six women with SLE were divided into 2 subgroups, i.e. subjects with positive AECAs (+) and those with negative AECAs (–). The control group consisted of 25 healthy women. Clinical characteristics, routine laboratory tests and circulating markers of EC activation/dysfunction, i.e. monocyte-chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), soluble E- and P-selectin, vascular and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1, sICAM-1), von Willebrand factor (vWF), pentraxin 3 (the marker of vasculitis) the indicator of procoagulant activity i.e. prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 (F1 + 2) were detected using ELISA and compared between patients with AECA (+), AECA (–) and control subgroups. Serum concentrations of AECAs in AECA(+), AECA(–) and control groups were 4.58 ± 2.97, 0.92 ± 0.50 and 0.72 ± 0.28 AU/ml, respectively (p < 0.001). The study showed significant increases in EC activation markers, i.e. MCP-1, sE-selectin, sVCAM-1 and F1 + 2 in SLE AECA(+) compared to SLE AECA(–) and control groups. However, the indicator of vasculitis (PTX3) was significantly lower in SLE AECA(+). Moreover, multivariate analysis of variance showed a positive correlation between AECAs and sE-selectin and sVCAM-1 levels, but not with PTX3. AECAs were involved in the initial stages of vascular damage in SLE, i.e. in EC activation and dysfunction. However, they did not play a role in the development of vasculitis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal, Autoimmune and Metabolic Diseases, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, ul. Medyków 14, 40-752, Katowice, Poland

    Paweł Cieślik, Elżbieta Semik-Grabarczyk, Antoni Hrycek & Michał Holecki

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  1. Paweł Cieślik
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  2. Elżbieta Semik-Grabarczyk
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  3. Antoni Hrycek
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  4. Michał Holecki
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Contributions

PC: data collection, writing and original draft. ES-G: data collection, review and editing. AH: methodology, investigation, review and editing. MH: supervision, writing, review and editing. All authors approved the final manuscript as submitted and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

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Correspondence to Paweł Cieślik.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This study was approved by the Bioethics Committee of the Medical University of Silesia (KNW-6501-98/08 from July 8, 2008).

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Cieślik, P., Semik-Grabarczyk, E., Hrycek, A. et al. The impact of anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECAs) on the development of blood vessel damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: the preliminary study. Rheumatol Int 42, 791–801 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-022-05104-5

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