Charalampos Skarlis

• Pharm.D MSc PhD
• PostDoc Position at Medical School National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Type I interferon (IFN) pathway dysregulation plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of several systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs), including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjögren’s disease (SjD), systemic sclerosis (SSc), dermatomyositis (DM) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Genetic and epigenetic alterations have been involved i...

Background Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP) is a vasospastic condition seen in approximately 5% of the general population, classified into primary (idiopathic) and secondary (in the presence of an underlying disorder). The latter may precede the onset of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs) and particularly systemic sclerosis (SSc) by many years...

Background Sicca complaints are a frequent reason for rheumatology consultation in an outpatient setting. Though Sjögren’s disease (SjD) and to a lesser extent systemic sclerosis (SSc) are the main systemic autoimmune disorders accounting for oral and ocular dryness, autoimmune thyroid disease (ATD) has been also previously associated with sicca fe...

Background Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) are a group of autoimmune diseases, characterised by muscle inflammation (myositis) and weakness, impacting various organ systems. IIMs are reported with a prevalence of 14/100,000 and an onset of 45-60 years of age for adults. Clinical subtypes include dermatomyositis (DM), antisynthetase syndrom...

The impact of HLA-DRB1 alleles in a Hellenic, Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis cohort: Implications on clinical and neuroimaging profile

Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis (POMS) is considered a complex disease entity and several genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors have been associated with disease pathogenesis. Linkage studies in Caucasians have consistently suggested the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms, as the genetic locus most strongly linked to MS, with the...

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a debilitating autoimmune disorder that carries the highest risk of progressing to lymphoma among all autoimmune diseases, with up to 10% of patients developing SS-associated lymphoma. However, the underlying mechanisms are unknown, and there are currently no actionable targets for prevention and therapeutic intervention....

Objectives The abnormal DNA damage response is associated with upregulation of the type-1 interferon (IFN-I) pathway in certain rheumatic diseases. We investigated whether such aberrant mechanisms operate in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods DNA damage levels were measured by alkaline comet assay in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 52 PsA...

STING-associated vasculopathy with onset in infancy (SAVI) is a rare type Ι interferonopathy caused by gain of function mutations in an encoding stimulator of interferon genes (STING) protein 1. SAVI is characterized by neonatal or infantile-onset systemic inflammation, mainly affecting peripheral cutaneous blood vessels, skin, and lungs. The main...

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) are a group of heterogeneous autoimmune diseases with a prevalence of 20 cases per 100000 of population. Despite their diversity, IMMs are characterised by several common clinical features such as muscle inflammation, proximal muscle weakness, abnormal electromyography and/or muscle biopsy. Over the last ye...

Objectives Long-term immunomodulatory therapy of pediatric onset-multiple sclerosis (POMS) is based mainly on published case series and internationally agreed guidelines. Relevant studies in the Greek population are absent from the literature. The purpose of this study is to present data on the efficacy and safety of the 1st line immunomodulatory d...

Background/Objective Older age and male sex have been consistently found to be associated with dismal outcomes among COVID-19 infected patients. In contrast, premenopausal females present the lowest mortality among adults infected by SARS-CoV-2. The goal of the present study was to investigate whether peripheral blood type I interferon (IFN) signat...

Objective: While multiple sclerosis (MS) is considered the cornerstone of autoimmune demyelinating CNS disorders, systemic autoimmune diseases (SADs) are important MS mimickers. We sought to explore whether distinct clinical, laboratory, and imaging characteristics along with quantitation of peripheral blood type I interferon (IFN) activity could a...

Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS, POMS) accounts for 3–5% of all MS cases and is characterized by a highly inflammatory profile, often warranting treatment with high-efficacy agents. Our aim is to present real-world data of a series of 18 Hellenic POMS patients treated with natalizumab (NTZ) either as adolescents or as adults, after high dise...

Increased expression of interferon (IFN)-stimulated genes (ISGs) in peripheral blood, has been previously reported in viral infections, as well as in autoimmune disorders, in association with reduced leukocyte and platelet counts. Though cytopenias are common in patients with COVID-19 disease and predict severe outcomes, the underlying mechanisms h...

Milk Fat Globule Epidermal Growth Factor 8 (MFGE8) deficiency and gene polymorphisms have been previously linked to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-like and SLE development. Our aim was to explore whether four MFGE8 variants and MFGE8 serum levels are associated with autoimmunity susceptibility and autoimmune related atherosclerosis. DNA from 10...

Primary Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disorder affecting primarily perimenopausal women [...]

Background Pediatric onset multiple sclerosis(POMS) is characterized by a highly active profile, often warranting treatment with high efficacy disease-modulating therapies (DMTs). Fingolimod, an oral sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor modulator, is the first Food and Drug Administration (FDA)- and European Medicines Agency (EMA)-approved DMT for the...

Background: Alterations of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) pathway along with genetic variations of the IGF1 receptor (IGF1R) gene have been linked to the development of systemic autoimmunity, possibly through apoptosis induction. This study aims to investigate whether genetic variations of the IGF1R contribute to Sjögren's syndrome (SS) path...

Background B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (B-NHL) is one of the major complications of primary Sjögren’s syndrome (SS). Chronic inflammation and macrophages in SS minor salivary glands have been previously suggested as significant predictors for lymphoma development among SS patients. Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2)—a product mainl...

Introduction Accumulating data highlights that dysregulation of type I interferon (IFN) pathways plays a central role in the pathogenesis of several systemic and organ specific autoimmune diseases. Advances in understanding the role of type I IFNs in these disorders can lead to targeted drug development as well as establishing potential disease bio...

Autoinflammatory diseases have been considered for decades as syndromes of unknown etiology and their treatment was limited to traditional anti-inflammatory agents. Over the last years, our better understanding in disease pathogenesis has allowed the expansion of our therapeutic armamentarium towards autoinflammatory disorders with the implementati...

Objective: A link between bone metabolism and cardiovascular (CV) disease has been suggested mainly in the general population. In the current study we explored whether altered bone metabolism influence CV risk in patients with SLE. Methods: In 138 consecutive patients with SLE, atherosclerosis was assessed by the presence of plaque and/or arteri...

Background: Human Leucocyte Antigens (HLA) represent the genetic loci most strongly linked to Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Apart from HLA-DR and HLA-DQ, HLA-DP alleles have been previously studied regarding their role in MS pathogenesis, but to a much lesser extent. Our objective was to investigate the risk/resistance influence of HLA-DPB1 alleles in H...

Purpose of review Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is a chronic systemic disorder of autoimmune origin characterized by impaired secretory function of the exocrine glands and a high susceptibility for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma development. The aim of the present review is to summarize the main clinical and molecular contributors of lymphoma development in the...

Background: Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) is considered a complex disease entity with many genetic and environmental factors implicated in its pathogenesis. Linkage studies in Caucasian adult populations consistently demonstrate the major histocompatibility complex and its HLA (human leukocyte antigen) polymorphisms as the genetic locu...

Melatonin is a neurohormone mainly produced by the pineal gland following a circadian rhythm. It is characterized as a pleiotropic factor because it not only regulates the wake–sleep rhythm but also exerts antinociceptive, antidepressant, anxiolytic, and immunomodulating properties. Recent studies suggest that dysregulation of melatonin secretion i...

Objective: Familial Multiple Sclerosis (fMS) is reported to have distinct clinical and imaging characteristics in comparison to the sporadic disease (sMS). Nevertheless, the genetic/immunogenetic profile of fMS has never been investigated in depth, so far. In this study we examined differences of HLA-DRB1 allelic frequencies between 57 fMS and 141...

Background Primary Sjogren’s syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune exocrinopathy characterized by chronic salivary and lacrimal glands dysfunction. Recent studies suggest that activation of the receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL)/RANK and osteoprotegerin (OPG) pathway is implicated in the development of autoimmunity. Objectives Th...

Abstract: Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), their receptors and their binding proteins form a distinct bioregulation system that regulates growth, cell proliferation, apoptosis and tissue remodeling. Recent data highlight a significant interaction of IGFs and the components of the immune system, especially B and T cells. Accumulating data suggest...

27th Meeting of Hellenic society for Neuroscience

Background: The comorbidity between Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection is particularly rare. Only a few cases of comorbidity of Clinically Definite(CD)-MS and HIV have been documented worldwide, while the potential beneficial role of antiretroviral therapy regarding MS activity has long been an area of debate....

Background: The comorbidity between Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection is particularly rare. Only a few cases of comorbidity of Clinically Definite(CD)-MS and HIV have been documented worldwide, while the potential beneficial role of antiretroviral therapy regarding MS activity has long been an area of debate....

We aimed for the first time in Greece, to investigate the oral health status of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients and its relationship with clinico-laboratorian parameters and the Quality of Life (QoL) in this group. It is an ongoing study with very interesting findings so far.

Mucosal HSV infection remains a public health issue in developing and developed world. However, an effective vaccine is still missing, partly because of the incomplete knowledge of correlates of protection. In this study we have investigated the kinetics and quality of immunity elicited by an attenuated HSV1 vector expressing the immunomodulatory T...