Publications (2)4.73 Total impact
-
Article: Intrafamilial phenotypic variation in limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2C with compound heterozygous mutations.
[show abstract] [hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Two Japanese-Brazilian siblings with type 2C limb girdle muscular dystrophy showed a maternal 521-T deletion in exon 6 and a larger paternal deletion of exon 6 in the gamma-sarcoglycan gene. One sib was ambulant at 29 years of age, whereas the other sib was confined to a wheelchair at the age of 12. Sarcoglycan staining of the muscle was reduced in both siblings but it did not correlate with the observed variability of the clinical severity.Muscle & Nerve 06/2000; 23(5):807-10. · 2.37 Impact Factor -
Article: Expression of HLA-DR and its enhancing molecules in muscle fibers in polymyositis.
[show abstract] [hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Polymyositis (PM) is an autoimmune inflammatory muscle disease of unknown cause in which cellular immunity is thought to play an important pathogenic role. Class II major histocompatibility complex (class II MHC: human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR operates as a cofactor of antigen presentation in immunological responses. There has been a major debate over whether muscle fibers themselves synthesize and express HLA-DR molecules and play a role in antigen presentation in PM pathogenesis. In this study, we demonstrated that most muscle fibers from patients with PM synthesized and expressed HLA-DR molecules on their surface. Human leukocyte antigen-DR expression was highly specific to PM. In addition, class II transactivator (CIITA), human leukocyte antigen DM (HLA-DM), and invariant chain (Ii), which are indispensable for expression of mature HLA-DR molecules and for antigen processing and presentation, were co-expressed. One of the cytokines that could induce this expression is interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), released by activated lymphocytes. Our results indicate that in PM muscle fibers synthesize and express HLA-DR molecules and may contribute to the inflammatory responses together with lymphocytes.Muscle & Nerve 04/2000; 23(3):385-92. · 2.37 Impact Factor
