Chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis (CMC) is frequently associated with T cell immunodeficiencies. Specifically, the proinflammatory IL-17A–producing Th17 subset is implicated in protection against fungi at epithelial surfaces. In autoimmune polyendocrinopathy candidiasis ectodermal dystrophy (APECED, or autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome 1), CMC is often the first sign, but the underlying immunodeficiency is a long-standing puzzle. In contrast, the subsequent endocrine features are clearly autoimmune, resulting from defects in thymic self-tolerance induction caused by mutations in the autoimmune regulator (AIRE). We report severely reduced IL-17F and IL-22 responses to both Candida albicans antigens and polyclonal stimulation in APECED patients with CMC. Surprisingly, these reductions are strongly associated with neutralizing autoantibodies to IL-17F and IL-22, whereas responses were normal and autoantibodies infrequent in APECED patients without CMC. Our multicenter survey revealed neutralizing autoantibodies against IL-17A (41%), IL-17F (75%), and/ or IL-22 (91%) in >150 APECED patients, especially those with CMC. We independently found autoantibodies against these Th17-produced cytokines in rare thymoma patients with CMC. The autoantibodies preceded the CMC in all informative cases. We conclude that IL-22 and IL-17F are key natural defenders against CMC and that the immunodeficiency underlying CMC in both patient groups has an autoimmune basis.

Objective. Smad3 (or, MADH3) is a key intracellular messenger in the transforming growth factor ␤ signaling pathway. In mice, Smad3 deficiency accelerates growth plate chondrocyte maturation and leads to an osteoarthritis (OA)-like disease. We undertook this study to investigate the role of genetic variation in SMAD3 in the risk of large-joint OA in humans.Methods. Ten tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the SMAD3 gene region were tested in a discovery set: 313 patients who had undergone total knee replacement, 214 patients who had undergone total hip replacement, and 520 controls from the UK. The SNP associated with both hip and knee OA was subsequently genotyped in 1,221 controls and 1,074 cases from 2 cohorts of patients with hip OA and 2,537 controls and 1,575 cases from 4 cohorts of patients with knee OA.Results. A SNP (rs12901499) mapping to intron 1 of SMAD3 was associated with both knee and hip OA (P < 0.0022 and P < 0.021, respectively) in the discovery set. In all study cohorts, the major allele (G) was increased among OA patients relative to controls. A meta-analysis for knee OA yielded an odds ratio (OR) of 1.22 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.12-1.34), P < 7.5 ؋ 10 -6 . For hip OA, the OR was 1.22 (95% CI 1.09-1.36), P < 4.0 ؋ 10 -4 . No evidence for heterogeneity was found (I 2 ‫؍‬ 0%).Conclusion. Our data indicate that genetic variation in the SMAD3 gene is involved in the risk of both hip OA and knee OA in European populations, confirming the results from animal models on the potential importance of this molecule in the pathogenesis of OA.Transforming growth factor ␤ (TGF␤) is a pleiotropic cytokine/growth factor with important anabolic effects on chondrocytes. It stimulates proteoglycan and type II collagen synthesis, can down-regulate cartilage-degrading enzymes, and is able to counteract interleukin-1-induced suppression of proteoglycan synthesis (1). Increasing evidence suggests that TGF␤ plays an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of osteoarthritis (OA). This role in OA is likely to derive from its contribution to the maintenance of the stable phenotype in articular chondrocytes (for review, see ref.2). TGF␤ signals mainly through the TGF␤ type I and type II transmembrane serine/threonine protein kinase receptors and the Smad signaling cascade. The pathway is initiated by C-terminal phosphorylation of the intracellular mediators Smad2 and/or Smad3 (also known as MADH3) by activated TGF␤ receptors. Upon activaDrs.

No abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent form of arthritis and accounts for substantial morbidity and disability, particularly in the elderly. It is characterized by changes in joint structure including degeneration of the articular cartilage and its etiology is multifactorial with a strong postulated genetic component. We performed a meta-analysis of four genome-wide association (GWA) studies of 2,371 knee OA cases and 35,909 controls in Caucasian populations. Replication of the top hits was attempted with data from additional ten replication datasets. With a cumulative sample size of 6,709 cases and 44,439 controls, we identified one genome-wide significant locus on chromosome 7q22 for knee OA (rs4730250, p-value=9.2×10 −9 ), thereby confirming its role as a susceptibility locus for OA. The associated signal is located within a large (500kb) linkage disequilibrium (LD) block that contains six genes; PRKAR2B (protein kinase, cAMP-dependent, regulatory, type II, beta), HPB1 (HMG-box transcription factor 1), COG5 (component of oligomeric golgi complex 5), GPR22 (G protein-coupled receptor 22), DUS4L (dihydrouridine synthase 4-like), and BCAP29 (the B-cell receptor-associated protein 29). Gene expression analyses of the (six) genes in primary cells derived from different joint tissues confirmed expression of all the genes in the joint environment. Evangelou et al.

The production of several cytokines could be dysregulated in type 1 diabetes (T1D). In particular, the activation of T helper (Th) type 1 (Th1) cells has been proposed to underlie the autoimmune pathogenesis of the disease, although roles for inflammatory processes and the Th17 pathway have also been shown. Nevertheless, despite evidence for the role of cytokines before and at the onset of T1D, the corresponding findings are inconsistent across studies. Moreover, conflicting data exist regarding the blood cytokine levels in T1D patients. The current study was performed to investigate genetic and autoantibody markers in association with the peripheral blood cytokine profiles by xMap multiplex technology in newly diagnosed young T1D patients and age-matched healthy controls. The onset of young-age T1D was characterized by the upregulation of growth factors, including granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin (IL)-7, the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β (but not IL-6 or tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α), Th17 cytokines, and the regulatory cytokines IL-10 and IL-27. Ketoacidosis and autoantibodies (anti-IA-2 and -ZnT8), but not human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotype, influenced the blood cytokine levels. These findings broaden the current understanding of the dysregulation of systemic levels of several key cytokines at the young-age onset of T1D and provide a further basis for the development of novel immunoregulatory treatments in this disease.