Publications

Abstract BACKGROUND Nearly 45% of all deaths are associated with chronic fibroproliferative diseases, of which the primary characteristic is altered remodelling of the extracellular matrix. A major difficulty in developing anti-fibrotic therapies is the lack of accurate and established techniques to estimate dynamics of fibrosis, regression or progression, in response to therapy. AIM One of […]

Abstract OBJECTIVE To evaluate the role of three cartilage-derived biomarkers on osteoarthritis (OA): urinary C-terminal telopeptide (uCTX-II), serum cartilage oligomeric protein (sCOMP), and serum MMP degraded type II collagen (sC2M). SUBJECTS AND METHODS Samples from 3582 individuals from the Rotterdam Study, the Genetics osteoArthritis and Progression (GARP), the Chingford Study and the TwinsUK cohort were […]

Abstract BACKGROUND Matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) plays an important role in the pathology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Measurement of active MMP-3 in clinical samples could provide information about progression of rheumatoid diseases, and potentially response to treatment. Hence, we aimed to develop a sensitive assay specifically measuring the active form of MMP-3 […]

Abstract OBJECTIVE We investigated the effects of tocilizumab (TCZ) on joint tissue remodeling in patients with moderate to severely active RA by measuring tissue-specific biomarker. METHODS The LITHE biomarker study (n = 740) was a phase III study of 4- and 8-mg/kg TCZ in combination with MTX. Early response was evaluated at week 16 as […]

Abstract Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritic disease, and a major cause of disability and impaired quality of life in the elderly. OA is a complex disease of the entire joint, affecting bone, cartilage and synovium that thereby presents multiple targets for treatment. This manuscript will summarise emerging observations from cell biology, […]

Abstract OBJECTIVE Cardiovascular diseases are among the most common causes of mortality in renal failure patients undergoing haemodialysis. A high turnover rate of the proteoglycan versican, represented by the increased presence of its fragmentation products in plasma, has previously been associated with cardiovascular diseases. The objective of the study was to investigate the association of […]

Abstract This review discusses the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) quality in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis (PF). In PF, the highly ordered structure of collagens and elastin within the ECM of the lung is severely disrupted and lacks its original tissue quality. Discussions about the ECM have focused on the role of protein quantity […]

Abstract Epidemiological and genetic data support the notion that schizophrenia and bipolar disorder share genetic risk factors. In our previous genome-wide association study, meta-analysis and follow-up (totaling as many as 18 206 cases and 42 536 controls), we identified four loci showing genome-wide significant association with schizophrenia. Here we consider a mixed schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (psychosis) […]

Abstract In the bone remodeling process that takes place throughout the skeleton at bone multicellular units, intercellular communication processes are crucial. The osteoblast lineage has long been known to program osteoclast formation and hence resorption, but the preservation of bone mass and integrity requires tight control of remodeling. This needs local controls that ensure availability […]

Abstract Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is significantly hampered by the lack of easily accessible biomarkers that can detect disease presence and predict disease risk reliably. Fluid biomarkers of AD currently provide indications of disease stage; however, they are not robust predictors of disease progression or treatment response, and most are measured in cerebrospinal fluid, […]