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Clinical Trial
. 2019 Mar 15:10:487.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00487. eCollection 2019.

Type I Interferon Signature in Primary Antiphospholipid Syndrome: Clinical and Laboratory Associations

Eleni Palli  1 , Evrydiki Kravvariti  1 , Maria G Tektonidou  1
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Type I Interferon Signature in Primary Antiphospholipid Syndrome: Clinical and Laboratory Associations

Eleni Palli et al. Front Immunol. .

Abstract

Background: Increased expression of type I interferon (IFN)-regulated genes has been described in blood and tissue cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other rheumatic disorders. Only isolated studies have examined the type I IFN gene expression in antiphosholipid syndrome (APS), while efforts to evaluate associations with APS-related factors are scarce. Objective: Our aim was to investigate the type I IFN signature in patients with primary APS (PAPS), SLE/APS, and SLE in comparison with healthy controls, and to evaluate associations with disease-related characteristics. Methods: We measured the type I IFN score, derived from relative expressions of three IFN-inducible genes (MX-1, IFIT-1, and IFI-44) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 55 patients with PAPS, 34 with SLE/APS, 48 with SLE, and 28 controls. In patients with PAPS, we performed multivariate regression to examine associations of type I IFN score with their clinical, laboratory and treatment characteristics. Results: Type I IFN score was increased in all patient groups vs. controls (p = 0.028, p = 0.027, p = 0.028 for PAPS, SLE/APS, and SLE, respectively). IFI-44 had the most pronounced expression. In patients with PAPS, multivariate linear regression revealed positive associations of type I IFN score with female gender (b-coefficient = 0.49; 95% CI 0.04, 0.94; p = 0.034) and IgG or IgM anti-β2GPI antibodies (b-coefficient = 0.53; 95% CI 0.10, 0.96; p = 0.017), and negative associations with age (b-coefficient = -0.02/year; 95% CI -0.04, -0.01; p = 0.027) and hydroxychloroquine use (b-coefficient = -0.51; 95% CI-0.96, -0.06; p = 0.027). Conclusion: Type I IFN score is increased in PAPS and correlated positively with anti-β2GPI antibodies and negatively with hydroxychloroquine use.

Keywords: anti-b2-glycoprotein I antibodies; antiphospholipid antibodies; antiphospholipid syndrome; hydroxycloroquine; systemic lupus erythematosus; type I Interferon score; type I Interferon signature.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Type I interferon score measurements with median and interquartile range in patients with PAPS, SLE/APS, and SLE vs. healthy controls. IFN, Interferon; HC, Healthy Controls; APS, Antiphospholipid Syndrome; PAPS, Primary APS; SLE, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus; SLE/APS, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus-associated APS.
Figure 2
Figure 2
IFI44, IFIT1, and MX1 mRNA expression levels with median and interquartile range in PAPS, SLE/APS, and SLE patients vs. healthy controls. HC, Healthy Controls; APS, Antiphospholipid Syndrome; PAPS, Primary APS; SLE, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus; SLE/APS, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus-associated APS.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Frequency of high type I IFN score in PAPS, SLE, and SLE/APS groups. APS, Antiphospholipid Syndrome; PAPS, Primary APS; SLE, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus; SLE/APS, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus-associated APS.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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