title: Increased apoptosis in circulating lymphocyte cultures of anti-RNA polymerase III positive patients with systemic sclerosis.
abstract: The sera of 39 patients (38 women and 1 man), 16 with limited and 23 with diffuse clinical form of systemic sclerosis (SSc), were tested for anti-centromere (ACA), anti-topoisomerase I (ATA) and anti-RNA polymerase III (ARA) antibodies. The presence of apoptotic cells in cultures of circulating lymphocytes was investigated using the TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling) technique. ACAs were present in 16 (41%), ATA in 15 (38%) and ARA in 8 (21%) cases. The mean frequency of apoptotic lymphocytes was statistically higher in the ARA positive patients with respect to that in the control population (P < 0.001), in ACA (P < 0.001) and in the ATA (P < 0.001) groups. Moreover, apoptosis was distributed homogenously in ACA and ATA positive subjects, but not in the ARA patients. Our results show that there is an increase in apoptosis in the lymphocytes of ARA positive SSc patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Franca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Majone
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Olivieri
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cozzi
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Montaldi
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tonello
authors.forename: Maria Serena
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Visentin
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ciprian
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ruffatti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000097:blood*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000276:immunology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002503:Centromere / Q000276:immunology; D004264:DNA Topoisomerases, Type I / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012320:RNA Polymerase III / Q000276:immunology; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear; D012320:RNA Polymerase III; D004264:DNA Topoisomerases, Type I