Neurological Disease in Lupus: Toward a Personalized Medicine Approach

Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS) presents as a severe neurological brain disease and is a genetic mimic of the sequelae of transplacentally acquired viral infection. Evidence exists for a perturbation of innate immunity as a primary pathogenic event in the disease phenotype. Here, we show that TREX1, encoding the major mammalian 3' --> 5' DNA exonuclease, is the AGS1 gene, and AGS-causing mutations result in abrogation of TREX1 enzyme activity. Similar loss of function in the Trex1(-/-) mouse leads to an inflammatory phenotype. Our findings suggest an unanticipated role for TREX1 in processing or clearing anomalous DNA structures, failure of which results in the triggering of an abnormal innate immune response.

The antiphospholipid syndrome causes venous, arterial, and small-vessel thrombosis; pregnancy loss; and preterm delivery for patients with severe pre-eclampsia or placental insufficiency. Other clinical manifestations are cardiac valvular disease, renal thrombotic microangiopathy, thrombocytopenia, haemolytic anaemia, and cognitive impairment. Antiphospholipid antibodies promote activation of endothelial cells, monocytes, and platelets; and overproduction of tissue factor and thromboxane A2. Complement activation might have a central pathogenetic role. Of the different antiphospholipid antibodies, lupus anticoagulant is the strongest predictor of features related to antiphospholipid syndrome. Therapy of thrombosis is based on long-term oral anticoagulation and patients with arterial events should be treated aggressively. Primary thromboprophylaxis is recommended in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and probably in purely obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome. Obstetric care is based on combined medical-obstetric high-risk management and treatment with aspirin and heparin. Hydroxychloroquine is a potential additional treatment for this syndrome. Possible future therapies for non-pregnant patients with antiphospholipid syndrome are statins, rituximab, and new anticoagulant drugs. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.