TY - JOUR T1 - Plasma Platelet-derived Microparticles in Patients with Connective Tissue Diseases JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol DO - 10.3899/jrheum.100780 SP - jrheum.100780 AU - Chinami Oyabu AU - Akio Morinobu AU - Daisuke Sugiyama AU - Jun Saegusa AU - Shino Tanaka AU - Sahoko Morinobu AU - Goh Tsuji AU - Shimpei Kasagi AU - Seiji Kawano AU - Shunichi Kumagai Y1 - 2011/01/15 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2011/01/11/jrheum.100780.abstract N2 - Objective To clarify the role of platelet-derived microparticles (PDMP), which are small vesicles with thrombotic and immunological properties, in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic sclerosis (SSc), dermatomyositis/polymyositis (PM/DM), and mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). Methods Plasma levels of PDMP were measured by ELISA, and compared among patients with one of the 4 diseases. Association of PDMP levels with clinical characteristics and medication of the patients was also examined. Results PDMP levels were higher in patients with MCTD and SSc than in controls. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that patients with Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP) showed higher PDMP levels than those without. PDMP levels in individual patients did not fluctuate significantly over several months. Conclusion PDMP level is associated with MCTD, SSc, and RP, and could be a novel marker for RP. ER -