Author/Editor     Lakota, Katja; Carns, Mary; Podlusky, Sofia; Mrak Poljšak, Katjuša; Hinchcliff, Monique; Lee, Jungwha; Tomšič, Matija; Sodin-Šemrl, Snežna; Varga, John
Title     Serum amyloid A is a marker for pulmonary involvement in systemic sclerosis
Type     članek
Vol. and No.     Letnik 10, št. 1
Publication year     2015
ISSN     1932-6203 - PloS one
Language     eng
Abstract     Inflammation in systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a prominent, but incompletely characterized fea- ture in early stages of the disease. The goal of these studies was to determine the circulat- ing levels, clinical correlates and biological effects of the acute phase protein serum amyloid A (SAA), a marker of inflammation, in patients with SSc. Circulating levels of SAA were determined by multiplex assays in serum from 129 SSc patients and 98 healthy con- trols. Correlations between SAA levels and clinical and laboratory features of disease were analyzed. The effects of SAA on human pulmonary fibroblasts were studied ex vivo. Elevat- ed levels of SAA were found in 25% of SSc patients, with the highest levels in those with early-stage disease and diffuse cutaneous involvement. Significant negative correlations of SAA were found with forced vital capacity and diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide. Pa- tients with elevated SAA had greater dyspnea and more frequent interstitial lung disease, and had worse scores on patient-reported outcome measures. Incubation with recombinant SAA induced dose-dependent stimulation of IL-6 and IL-8 in normal lung fibroblasts in cul- ture. Serum levels of the inflammatory marker SAA are elevated in patients with early dif- fuse cutaneous SSc, and correlate with pulmonary involvement. In lung fibroblasts, SAA acts as a direct stimulus for increased cytokine production. These findings suggest that sys- temic inflammation in SSc may be linked to lung involvement and SAA could serve as a po- tential biomarker for this complication.
Keywords     systemic sclerosis
amyloid
human pulmonary fibroblasts
sistemska skleroza
amiloid
človekovih pljučnih fibroblastov