title: Are microparticles the missing link between thrombosis and autoimmune diseases? Involvement in selected rheumatologic diseases.
abstract: Microparticles (MPs) are membrane-bound vesicles with important physiologic effects. MPs exchange information intercellularly, with each kind of MP carrying antigens and receptors of the cells from which they originated. They are biologic effectors in inflammation, angiogenesis, vascular injury, and thrombosis. Thrombosis is generally caused by abnormalities in blood flow, blood composition, and/or properties of the vessel wall. Thrombosis is a well-described feature of cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease. Accumulating evidence suggests that increased risk of thrombosis is also characteristic of autoimmune disorders and immune-mediated diseases affecting all age groups, although the older adults are most vulnerable. Current research has also implicated MPs as a source of autoantigenic nuclear material that can form immune complexes, activate the innate immune system, and may lead to autoimmunity. This review focuses on the contribution of MPs to both the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and, as the immune and coagulation systems are tightly linked, their role in hypercoagulability in the setting of autoimmunity in an aging population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina.
authors.forename: April
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barnado
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Jena R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Wirth
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gilkeson
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Markiewicz
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D055252:Cell-Derived Microparticles / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*