Abstract：
Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease manifesting with progressive fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Its pathogenesis is strictly associated with vascular disfunction and damage. Salusin-α and salusin-β, endogenous peptides regulating secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and vascular smooth muscle proliferation, may potentially play a role in SSc pathogenesis. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the concentration of salusins in sera of patients with SSc and healthy controls and to evaluate correlations between the salusins levels and selected clinical parameters within the study group. Materials and methods: 48 patients with SSc (44 women; mean age, 56.4, standard deviation, 11.4) and 25 adult healthy volunteers (25 women; mean age, 55.2, standard deviation, 11.2) were enrolled. All patients with SSc were treated with vasodilators and twenty-seven of them (56%) also received immunosuppressive therapy. Results: Circulating salusin-α was significantly elevated in patients with SSc in comparison to healthy controls (U = 350.5, p = 0.004). Patients with SSc receiving immunosuppression had higher serum salusin-α concentrations compared with those without immunosuppressive therapy (U = 176.0, p = 0.026). No correlation was observed between salusins concentrations and skin or internal organ involvement parameters. Conclusions: Salusin-α, a bioactive peptide mitigating the endothelial disfunction, was elevated in patients with systemic sclerosis receiving vasodilators and immunosuppressants. Increased salusin-α concertation may be associated with the initiation of atheroprotective processes in patients with SSc managed pharmacologically, which requires verification in future studies.
摘要：
背景：系统性硬化症（SSc）是一种结缔组织疾病，表现为皮肤和内脏器官的进行性纤维化。其发病机制与血管功能障碍和损伤密切相关。Salusin-α和Salusin-β，内源性肽调节促炎细胞因子的分泌和血管平滑肌增殖，可能在SSc发病机制中发挥作用。目标：本研究的目的是评估SSc患者和健康对照者血清中salusins的浓度，并评估研究组中salusins水平与选定临床参数之间的相关性。材料和方法：48例SSc患者（44名妇女；平均年龄，56.4，标准偏差，11.4）和25名成年健康志愿者（25名女性；平均年龄，55.2，标准偏差，11.2）已注册。所有SSc患者均接受血管扩张剂治疗，其中27例（56％）也接受了免疫抑制治疗。结果：与健康对照组相比，SSc患者的循环salusin-α显着升高（U=350.5，p=0.004）。与未接受免疫抑制治疗的患者相比，接受免疫抑制的SSc患者的血清salusin-α浓度更高（U=176.0，p=0.026）。在salusins浓度与皮肤或内脏器官受累参数之间未观察到相关性。结论：Salusin-α，一种缓解内皮功能障碍的生物活性肽，在接受血管扩张剂和免疫抑制剂的系统性硬化症患者中升高。在接受药物治疗的SSc患者中，salusin-α协同作用的增加可能与动脉粥样硬化保护过程的启动有关，这需要在未来的研究中进行验证。
