Defensins: Potential Effectors in Autoimmune Rheumatic Disorders

Defensins: Potential Effectors in Autoimmune Rheumatic Disorders

Defensins are small cationic peptides with antimicrobial properties. They constitute a highly conserved innate immune defense mechanism across species. Based on the arrangement of disulfide-bonds, αand β-defensins are distinguished in humans. Both types of defensin comprise several distinct molecules that are preferentially expressed at epithelial surfaces and in blood cells. In the last decade...

The Hpa Axis in Autoimmune Rheumatic Disorders

The Therapeutic Potential for PI3K Inhibitors in Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases

The class 1 PI3Ks are lipid kinases with key roles in cell surface receptor-triggered signal transduction pathways. Two isoforms of the catalytic subunits, p110γ and p110δ, are enriched in leucocytes in which they promote activation, cellular growth, proliferation, differentiation and survival through the generation of the second messenger PIP3. Genetic inactivation or pharmaceutical inhibition...

MicroRNAs in autoimmune rheumatic diseases.

The etiology of autoimmune diseases remains largely unknown. In recent years, besides genetic factors, several studies proposed that the epigenome may hold the key to a better understanding of autoimmunity initiation and perpetuation. More specifically epigenetic regulatory mechanisms comprise DNA methylation, a variety of histone modifications, and microRNA (miRNA) activity, all of which act u...

Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases

1 Center for Autoimmune Diseases Research (CREA), Universidad del Rosario, Carrera 24 No. 63C-69, 111221 Bogota, Colombia 2 ZabludowitczCenter forAutoimmuneDiseases, ShebaMedical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Sackler Faculty ofMedicine, Tel AvivUniversity, 52621 Tel-Hashomer, Israel 3 Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany 4...