Abstract Number: 1863 • ACR Convergence 2025
Bag3 in systemic sclerosis: possible therapeutic target and biomarker for pulmonary fibrosis
Background/Purpose: BAG3 (Bcl2-associated athanogene 3) regulates cellular pathways including apoptosis and autophagy, and induces fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transformation. In systemic sclerosis (SSc), myofibroblasts drive fibrosis of skin…Abstract Number: 1860 • ACR Convergence 2025
GLUT and FAPα as molecular imaging markers for interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis
Background/Purpose: The clinical management of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) is challenging due to its heterogeneous progression. While recent studies have shown that pulmonary…Abstract Number: 1856 • ACR Convergence 2025
Spatial Proteomic-based Phenotyping of Fibroblast Populations and their Microenvironment in Systemic Sclerosis Primary Heart Involvement
Background/Purpose: Primary heart involvement (pHI) is one of the leading causes of death in systemic sclerosis (SSc). However, the cellular and molecular pathomechanisms of SSc-pHI…Abstract Number: 1830 • ACR Convergence 2025
Single-Cell and Spatial Profiling Reveal Proinflammatory and Profibrotic Fibroblast-Macrophage Niches in Lupus Nephritis
Background/Purpose: Lupus nephritis (LN) is a severe complication of SLE that can progress to chronic kidney disease, renal fibrosis, and eventual renal failure. Fibroblasts activated…Abstract Number: 1805 • ACR Convergence 2025
Human meniscus histopathological and transcriptomic changes at early and advanced stages of knee osteoarthritis
Background/Purpose: The knee menisci are essential in joint biomechanics while meniscus damage is a driver of knee osteoarthritis (OA) and an important source of knee…Abstract Number: 1798 • ACR Convergence 2024
CXCL6 Synthesized by Proximal Tubule Cells May Promote Fibrosis in Lupus Nephritis
Background/Purpose: Detection of urinary CXCL6, a member of the IL-8 chemokine family, has been linked to CKD and is a proposed marker of chronic damage…Abstract Number: 2292 • ACR Convergence 2024
Fibroblasts with High Expression of CD74 Promote Lymphocytes Infiltration in Salivary Gland in Sjӧgren’s Disease
Background/Purpose: Sjӧgren's disease (SjD) is characterized by persistent focal infiltration of B- and T lymphocytes in the exocrine gland, mainly salivary gland. Though it is…Abstract Number: 2474 • ACR Convergence 2024
High-throughput Screening Identifies Specific Molecular Markers for ILD in Patients with Rheumatic Diseases
Background/Purpose: Molecular expression patterns of lung tissue across rheumatic musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) have not been extensively studied. Lung sampling is invasive and not always practical…Abstract Number: 2502 • ACR Convergence 2024
Characterization of the Tissue Fibroblast Repertoire in IgG4-Related Ophthalmic Disease
Background/Purpose: IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a systemic fibroinflammatory condition characterized by tissue infiltration with IgG4+ plasma cells. Fibrosis in the target organs is one of…Abstract Number: 2539 • ACR Convergence 2024
Telocytes Integrated into Mast Cells and Joint-Draining Lymphatic Vessels Potentially Regulate Lymphatic Clearance
Background/Purpose: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and TNF-transgenic mice have lymphatic dysfunction (1). Recently, we showed mast cells involvement, as genetic ablation and drug inhibition decreased…Abstract Number: 2550 • ACR Convergence 2024
Infiltrating and Resident Macrophages in Lupus Nephritis: Scar Associated Macrophage Phagocytic Dysfunction and Fibroblast Activation
Background/Purpose: Lupus nephritis (LN) is driven by a heterogeneous population of renal macrophages. We have previously reported that the renal macrophage subpopulations are similar in…Abstract Number: 0054 • ACR Convergence 2024
Supernatants from Macrophages Stimulated with Citrullinated and MAA-Modified Fibrinogen Contain PDGF-BB and TGF-b and Upregulate Fibrotic Markers in Human Lung Fibroblasts
Background/Purpose: Lung tissues from patients with rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) have greater levels of malondialdehyde-acetaldehyde adducts (MAA) that co-localize with citrullinated (CIT) and…Abstract Number: 0061 • ACR Convergence 2024
Comparative Transcriptional Profiling of IPF and RA-ILD Lung Tissue Demonstrates Both Overlapping and Distinct Cell-specific Signaling Pathways
Background/Purpose: Transcriptional profiling represents a powerful tool for deciphering disease-relevant pathways and deriving functional biomarkers. Given the shared demographic, genetic, and clinico-epidemiologic features between rheumatoid…Abstract Number: 0062 • ACR Convergence 2024
Pro-Fibrotic Effects of Malondialdehyde-Acetaldehyde-Adducted and/or Citrullinated Proteins on Macrophages and Human Lung Fibroblasts
Background/Purpose: Clinically evident rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) affects approximately 10-15% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and accounts for the most overrepresented cause…Abstract Number: 0771 • ACR Convergence 2024
Arid5b Controls Pathologic Inflammatory versus Invasive Fibroblast Behavior
Background/Purpose: Synovial fibroblasts assume both inflammatory and tissue invasive roles in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Recent studies have shown that these inflammatory and invasive functions are…
