{
  "abstract": "Introduction Systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) is a common and early complication of SSc, and the leading cause of death in SSc patients (1, 2), emphasizing the necessity of early recognition. Identifying distinctive biomarkers associated with the development and/or presence of SSc-ILD are the first step towards early recognition, can also offer a greater insight into the pathophysiology of SSc-ILD and may give rise to new targets for therapy.Material and Methods Baseline serum samples from n=73 SSc patients fulfilling the 2013 ACR/EULAR classification criteria for SSc who had at least five years of clinical follow-up in the Leiden Combined Care in Systemic Sclerosis (CCISS) cohort were used (3). All SSc patients underwent a high-resolution CT (HRCT) at baseline. A follow-up HRCT was obtained in cases with either a clinical suspicion of new ILD, or a suspicion of ILD progression in confirmed cases. Patients were divided into three groups: 1. patients without ILD at baseline, who remained free of ILD during follow-up (n=22), 2. patients without ILD at baseline, who developed ILD during follow-up (n=23), and 3. patients who had ILD at baseline (n=28). ILD was defined as typical signs of ILD on HRCT. Groups were matched based on sex and autoantibody status, and additional cases were added to take advantage of the full assay. Serum samples were analyzed using proximity extension assay (PEA, Olink©), which tested for a preset panel of ninety-two proteins involved in vascular biology. Protein expression levels were normalized and compared between groups using ANOVA with correction for multiple testing.Results When comparing group 1 (no development of ILD during follow-up) to group 2 (development of ILD during follow-up), group 1 showed significantly lower levels of TNF-R2 (mean diff. 0.580, p=0.016), FABP4 (0.933, p=0.017), GDF-15 (1.132, p=0.002), PSP-D (0.816, p=0.040) and TNFSF13B (0.813, p=0.022). When comparing group 1 to group 3 (ILD at baseline), group 1 showed significantly lower levels of TNFRSF14 (mean diff. 0.445, p= 0.017), TNF-R2 (0.551, p=0.017), Gal-3 (0.612, p=0.011), FABP4 (0.994, p=0.006), GDF-15 (1.194, p<0.001), U-PAR (0.630, p=0.008), CCL15 (0.938, p=0.015), PSP-D (1.106, p<0.001) and TNFSF13B (0.944, p=0.003).Conclusions This preliminary analysis revealed that TNF-R2, FABP4, GDF-15, PSP-D and TNFSF13B were significantly higher in patients that had SSc-ILD at baseline or developed SSc-ILD during follow-up, compared to those who did not. Further research should evaluate their role as a potential biomarker to identify SSc patients at risk for developing SSc-ILD.Abstract P.082 Figure 1",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Respiratory Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands"
      ],
      "name": "Emiel Marges"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands"
      ],
      "name": "Katherine van der Wouden"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Respiratory Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands"
      ],
      "name": "Marieke Overbeek"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Respiratory Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands"
      ],
      "name": "Jeska de Vries-Bouwstra"
    }
  ],
  "title": "P.082 Serum proteins reflecting vascular processes associate with interstitial lung disease development in patients with systemic sclerosis",
  "uid": "f1b810a2-837e-58e7-8042-ec7ec171d4d8"
}