Browsing by Subject "Methotrexate"
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Item Open Access Analysis of skewed X-chromosome inactivation in females with rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune thyroid diseases(BioMed Central, 2009) Chabchoub, G.; Uz, E.; Maalej, A.; Mustafa, C. A.; Rebai, A.; Mnif, M.; Bahloul, Z.; Farid, N. R.; Ozcelik, T.; Ayadi, H.Introduction The majority of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) are characterized by a striking female predominance superimposed on a predisposing genetic background. The role of extremely skewed X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) has been questioned in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune diseases.Item Open Access Increased frequency of extremely skewed X chromosome inactivation in juvenile idiopathic arthritis(John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009) Uz, E.; Mustafa, C.; Topaloglu, R.; Bilginer, Y.; Dursun, A.; Kasapcopur, O.; Ozen, S.; Bakkaloglu, A.; Ozcelik, T.Objective. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a childhood rheumatic disease of unknown etiology. Two subgroups of JIA, i.e., oligoarticular and polyarticular, are thought to have an autoimmune component, and show a higher female:male ratio. Skewed X chromosome inactivation (XCI) has previously been shown to be associated with scleroderma and autoimmune thyroiditis, 2 autoimmune disorders occurring predominantly in females. This study was undertaken to extend the analysis to the pediatric age group and to determine the XCI profiles of patients with JIA.Item Open Access Skewed X chromosome inactivation in blood cells of women with scleroderma(John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005) Özbalkan, Z.; Baǧişlar, S.; Kiraz, S.; Akyerli, C. B.; Özer H. T. E.; Yavuz, Ş.; Birlik, A. M.; Çalgüneri, M.; Özçelik, T.Objective. Scleroderma (SSc) is an autoimmune disease of unknown etiology. The disease is 3-8 times more frequent in women than in men. The role of X chromosome inactivation (XCI) in the predisposition of women to autoimmunity has been questioned. Until now this has not been illustrated experimentally. This study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that disturbances in XCI mosaicism may be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease in female patients with SSc. Methods. Seventy female SSc patients and 160 female controls were analyzed for the androgen receptor locus by the Hpa II/polymerase chain reaction assay to assess XCI patterns in DNA extracted from peripheral blood cells. Furthermore, skin biopsy samples were obtained from 5 patients whose blood revealed an extremely skewed pattern of XCI, and the analysis repeated. Since microchimerism in SSc was reported, Y chromosome sequences were investigated in all samples. Results. Skewed XCI was observed in DNA from peripheral blood cells in 35 of 55 informative patients (64%), as compared with 10 of 124 informative controls (8%) (P < 0.0001). Extreme skewing was present in 27 of the patient group (49%), as compared with only 3 of the controls (2.4%) (P < 0.0001). However, XCI was random in all skin biopsy samples. The potential contribution of microchimerism to the random XCI pattern is highly unlikely based on the medical histories of the patients. Conclusion. Skewed XCI mosaicism may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of SSc.