The branch is focusing on identifying the role of aberrant neutrophils and neutrophil extracellular traps in the development of autoimmune responses and end-organ damage in systemic diseases including lupus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), inflammatory myopathies and systemic vasculitides (AAV) and autoinflammatory syndromes. We are also examining how sex differences contribute to neutrophil biology. During this year, our group reported how lupus neutrophils modulate T cell function and mechanisms of oxidant production by neutrophils that may promote immune-mediated damage in lupus and other diseases. Our group also reported the association between low density granulocytes and coronary artery disease and vascular inflammation in a cohort of lupus patients. Our work is also examining neutrophil heterogeneity in humans to understand how specific subsets may modulate health and disease. Other areas of interest to our group pertaining to the role of neutrophils in autoimmunity relate to inflammatory myopathies and systemic vasculitis, and their role in various auto inflammatory syndromes including PAPA and DADA2. Recent collaborative work has focused on further understanding dysregulation in mitochondrial pathways in SLE as well as the role of the immunoproteasome in this disease. We continue to use sophisticated imaging and functional vascular assays to quantify blood vessel abnormalities in lupus patients. We have an ongoing clinical trial to assess the role of PPAR-gamma agonists in modulating vascular function and disease activity in lupus patients, at the NIH Clinical Center and recently completed a trial not he role of JAK inhibitors in SLE that included vascular outcomes. An ongoing trial on the role of exercise in SLE is also including vascular trials. How lipoprotein dysregulation contributes to lupus vascular disease is an area of current work in the lab. The branch uses sophisticated gene expression approaches including RNA sequencing, ATAC sequencing and single cell RNA sequencing to better understand cellular heterogeneity in autoimmune diseases and the role of specific cell subsets in mediating pathogenesis.

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Project End
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Budget End
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2019
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Indirect Cost
Name
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
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Type
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Barrera-Vargas, Ana; Gómez-Martín, Diana; Carmona-Rivera, Carmelo et al. (2018) Differential ubiquitination in NETs regulates macrophage responses in systemic lupus erythematosus. Ann Rheum Dis 77:944-950
Liu, Yudong; Carmona-Rivera, Carmelo; Moore, Erica et al. (2018) Myeloid-Specific Deletion of Peptidylarginine Deiminase 4 Mitigates Atherosclerosis. Front Immunol 9:1680
Demoruelle, M Kristen; Bowers, Emily; Lahey, Lauren J et al. (2018) Antibody Responses to Citrullinated and Noncitrullinated Antigens in the Sputum of Subjects With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Subjects at Risk for Development of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Arthritis Rheumatol 70:516-527
Carmona-Rivera, Carmelo; Bicker, Kevin L; Thompson, Paul R et al. (2018) Response to comment on ""Synovial fibroblast-neutrophil interactions promote pathogenic adaptive immunity in rheumatoid arthritis"". Sci Immunol 3:
Liu, Yudong; Kaplan, Mariana J (2018) Cardiovascular disease in systemic lupus erythematosus: an update. Curr Opin Rheumatol 30:441-448
Grayson, Peter C; Alehashemi, Sara; Bagheri, Armin A et al. (2018) 18 F-Fluorodeoxyglucose-Positron Emission Tomography As an Imaging Biomarker in a Prospective, Longitudinal Cohort of Patients With Large Vessel Vasculitis. Arthritis Rheumatol 70:439-449
Li, Hongjie; Feng, Dechun; Cai, Yan et al. (2018) Hepatocytes and neutrophils cooperatively suppress bacterial infection by differentially regulating lipocalin-2 and neutrophil extracellular traps. Hepatology 68:1604-1620
Liu, Yudong; Seto, Nickie L; Carmona-Rivera, Carmelo et al. (2018) Accelerated model of lupus autoimmunity and vasculopathy driven by toll-like receptor 7/9 imbalance. Lupus Sci Med 5:e000259
Carlucci, Philip M; Purmalek, Monica M; Dey, Amit K et al. (2018) Neutrophil subsets and their gene signature associate with vascular inflammation and coronary atherosclerosis in lupus. JCI Insight 3:
Irizarry-Caro, Jorge A; Carmona-Rivera, Carmelo; Schwartz, Daniella M et al. (2018) Brief Report: Drugs Implicated in Systemic Autoimmunity Modulate Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Formation. Arthritis Rheumatol 70:468-474

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