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BAFF (B-cell Activating Factor of the TNF Family) in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathieswith respect to autoantibody profile.
Kryštůfková, Olga ; Vencovský, Jiří (advisor) ; Tlaskalová - Hogenová, Helena (referee) ; Blažíčková, Stanislava (referee)
The idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) are a heterogeneous group of chronic muscle diseases with frequent extramuscular organ involvement that contributes to serious prognosis. The presence of autoantibodies and composition of muscle infiltrates both support autoimmune nature of the disease and pathogenic role of B lymphocytes. Besides the traditional diagnostic subgroups, autoantibody characterised phenotype subsets have been identified with presumed similar pathogenic mechanisms. The best known is the antisynthetase syndrome which is characterised by presence of myositis, antisynthetase autoantibodies (with anti-Jo-1 being the most frequent), interstitial lung disease and other extramuscular manifestations. BAFF (B cell-Activating Factor of the TNF Family) is a key factor in B cell homeostasis modulation. In high levels, it allows survival of autoreactive B cell clones and thus participates in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. Its expression is induced by type I interferons (IFN-1). The aim of the PhD thesis was to explore the role of BAFF in pathogenesis of IIMs by analysis of its serum levels, the receptors for BAFF in muscle tissue, their associations to IFN-1 and expression of BAFF gene mRNA transcription variants in peripheral blood cells. Further aspect was to study a possible...
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Role of BAFF cytokine in transplantation reactons
Sekerková, Zuzana ; Slavčev, Antonij (advisor) ; Krulová, Magdaléna (referee)
Current immunogenetic tests before organ transplantation include HLA typing and detection of HLA-specific antibodies. However, these tests do not provide information about the B cells participating in the humoral response against the transplanted organ. BAFF (B activating factor) plays an important role in the proliferation, maturation and differentiation of B cells. A soluble form of the cytokine arises after splicing the membrane form of BAFF. The soluble cytokine binds to three types of receptors - TACI, BCMA and BCMA. Some recent studies suggest that BAFF could serve as a marker or predictor of antibody-mediated (humoral) rejection in kidney transplant recipients. Our study consists of two parts. The first part is focused on the detection of soluble BAFF levels in patients after renal transplantation. The aim of our study was therefore to correlate levels of soluble BAFF cytokine in patients before and after transplantation with the clinical course and incidence of rejection after transplantation. The study included 92 kidney recipients. Humoral rejection was diagnosed on the basis of a positive finding of C4d deposits in peritubular capillaries (imunoflorescenční detection), and the presence of donor- specific antibodies. BAFF levels were determined using Xmap methodology by the Luminex method...
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The role of B cells in transplantation reactions
Brožová, Jitka ; Slavčev, Antonij (advisor) ; Stříž, Ilja (referee)
Kidney transplantation is the best treatment for patients with end-stage renal failure. The main problem of kidney transplantation is however the development of a cellular and antibody-mediated (humoral) rejection. During the last decade, thanks to the advanced immunosuppression, prognosis of survival and function of transplanted organs has significantly improved. Nevertheless, humoral rejection remains very serious obstacle in high-risk patients, because it can permanently damage the graft. Therefore, before transplantation it is necessary to stratify patients into high and low risk groups for development of antibody-mediated rejection. Current immunogenetic tests performed before transplantation include, in addition to HLA typing, detection of panel-reactive antibodies. However, this test does not provide information about B cells which participate in the humoral response of the kidney recipient. Therefore, in the presented thesis we studied B cell reactivity and its regulation in transplanted patients. In this retrospective analysis we measured levels of the B cell activating factor, a cytokine regulating the function of B lymphocytes (BAFF). Current reports suggest that BAFF could serve as a marker of humoral rejection. Furthermore, we focused on B lymphocytes and their capacity to produce...
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Autoimmune and lymphoproliferative diseases: associations and common mechanisms
Dobiášová, Alena ; Daňková, Pavlína (advisor) ; Hušáková, Markéta (referee)
Autoimmune and lymphoproliferative diseases share some etiologic mechanisms. The origin of the diseases is complicated process that involves an accumulation of hereditary and somatic mutations in a hematopoetic cell, which thanks to changed activity overcomes different growth and survival control checkpoints. Such mutations are for example those located in genes coding for transcription factors, apoptotic signaling molecules, costimulatory molecules and secreted exctracellular molecules. All these molecules influence the balance between survival and programmed cell death. Their dysregulated expression enables the cell to overcome defensive mechanisms of the immune system. Therefore, autoimmune and malignant cells are able to survive though, under usual circumstances, they would be selected. The main aim of this work is to shed the light on the influence of the dysregulated expression of the particular molecules on the origin of autoimmune and lymphoproliferative diseases. Key words: autoimmune ilnesess, lymphoproliferative diseases, etiology, AIRE, c-MYC, TP53, FOXP3, Fas, PTEN, Bim, CTLA-4, CD5, CD30, CD40/CD40L, BAFF, α-taxilin, IL- 10.
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