Dr Aziza Elmesmari

  • Research Associate (Immunology & Infection)

email: Aziza.Elmesmari@glasgow.ac.uk

Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation

Import to contacts

Research interests

As a rheumatologist, my primary focus is on patients affected by musculoskeletal diseases, specifically Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Existing treatments for RA do not restore immune tolerance, and patients in disease remission often experience flares. My previous work established pathogenic role of posttranscriptional regulator, microRNA-155 in the activation of monocyte and macrophages from RA patients. My current research is centred around (i) understanding the biology of tissue dendritic cells, a cell type capable of reinstating local and systemic immune tolerance and (ii) synovial tissue macrophages, a cell type that regulate joints flares.

The human synovium is a unique structure that includes a barrier-like lining and a vascular sub-lining layer, both housing tissue-resident macrophages and dendritic cells. In RA, the synovium is characterized by hyperplasia in both the synovial lining and sub-lining layers, a change in the phenotypes of tissue-resident cells, and infiltration of inflammatory cells. In our previous work, we demonstrated that reciprocal interactions between myeloid cells and the stromal compartment in the joint drive synovial pathology or the resolution of inflammation. To pinpoint the pathways driving these pathogenic or protective interactions, we have developed a 3D human synovial organoid system (Figure 1) and a 2D micro-culture system of cells derived from synovial biopsies. I investigate the outcomes of different cell interactions in these organoids, synovial tissue biopsies, and embryonic joints using imaging techniques (e.g., Cell Dive), a multiplex for soluble mediators, and multiparameter flow cytometry. One of the pathways we investigate is the protective role of MerTK/GAS6 in disease remission (Figure 2).

A figure showinf Myeloid-stromal synovial organoids (SO) produce collagen I and III and mimic synovial tissue topography

A slide of research by Dr Aziza Elmesmari showing Protective GAS6/MerTK STM pathway in RA remission  

Links

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2024 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2014 | 2012 | 2010 | 2008
Number of items: 26.

2024

Paoletti, A. et al. (2024) Liposomal antagomiR-155-5p restores anti-inflammatory macrophages and improves arthritis in preclinical models of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis and Rheumatology, 76(1), pp. 18-31. (doi: 10.1002/art.42665) (PMID:37527031)

2021

Clayton, S. A. et al. (2021) Inflammation causes remodeling of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase mediated by the bifunctional gene C15orf48. Science Advances, 7(50), eabl5182. (doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abl5182) (PMID:34878835)

MacDonald, L. et al. (2021) COVID-19 and RA share SPP1 myeloid pathway that drives PD-L1pos neutrophils and CD14pos monocytes. JCI Insight, 6(13), e147413. (doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.147413) (PMID:34143756) (PMCID:PMC8328085)

2020

Alivernini, S. et al. (2020) Distinct synovial tissue macrophage subsets regulate inflammation and remission in rheumatoid arthritis. Nature Medicine, 26(8), pp. 1295-1306. (doi: 10.1038/s41591-020-0939-8) (PMID:32601335)

2019

Finlay, S. et al. (2019) Presence of the MerTK Receptor on Human Synovial Tissue Macrophages Lowers Inflammatory Cytokine Production and Activation of the MerTK+CD206+ Subpopulation Limits the Inflammatory Response of Synovial Fibroblasts. 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, USA, 08-13 Nov 2019.

Elmesmari, A. et al. (2019) Do Functional Interactions Between Macrophages and Synovial Fibroblasts Drive Synovial Pathology or Resolution of Inflammation? European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) 2019 Congress, Madrid, Spain, 12-15 Jun 2019.

Finlay, S. et al. (2019) Single-cell Transcriptomic and Functional Analyses Reveal Novel Heterogeneity in Pathogenic Pathways Mediated by Human Synovial Tissue Macrophages. European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) 2019 Congress, Madrid, Spain, 12-15 Jun 2019.

2018

Alivernini, S. et al. (2018) Histological Features and Tissue-Macrophage Phenotype of Synovial Biopsies Identify RA Patients in Sustained Remission at Risk of Disease Flare after Treatment Tapering or Discontinuation. 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, 19-24 Oct 2018. (Unpublished)

Elmesmari, A., Alivernini, S., Tolusso, B., Bui, L., Vaughan, D. , Federico, F., Gremese, E., McInnes, I. B. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2018) Stolarska Synovial Tissue CD1c+ Dendritic Cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis Express High Levels of the Epigenetic Regulator of Inflammation, Microrna-155 and Inflammatory Cytokines. EULAR 2018: Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 13-16 June 2018. (Unpublished)

Finlay, S., Alivernini, S., Elmesmari, A., Tolusso, B., Ferraccioli, G., Gremese, E., Petricca, L., McInnes, I. B. , Kurowska-Stolarska, M. and Filer, A. (2018) Activation of Mertk+cd206+ Subpopulation of Human Synovial Tissue-Resident Macrophages Limits Inflammatory Response. EULAR 2018: Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 13-16 June 2018. (Unpublished)

Hecht, I. et al. (2018) ILDR2 is a novel B7-like protein that negatively regulates T cell responses. Journal of Immunology, 200(6), pp. 2025-2037. (doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1700325) (PMID:29431694)

Elmesmari, A., Alivernini, S., Tolusso, B., Vaughan, D. , Petricca, L., Gremese, E., Ferraccioli, G., McInnes, I. B. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2018) Synovial Tissue of RA Patients in Remission Contains a Unique Population of Regulatory Macrophages. Microphage Biology in the Single-Cell Era, Ghent, Belgium, 2018. (Unpublished)

2017

Jaigrdar, S. A., Benson, R. A. , Elmesmari, A., Kurowska-Stolarska, M. S. , McInnes, I. B. , Garside, P. and Macleod, M. K.L. (2017) Sphingosine-1-phosphate promotes the persistence of activated CD4 T cells in inflamed sites. Frontiers in Immunology, 8, 1627. (doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01627) (PMID:29225602) (PMCID:PMC5705559)

Kurowska-Stolarska, M. et al. (2017) MicroRNA-34a dependent regulation of AXL controls the activation of dendritic cells in inflammatory arthritis. Nature Communications, 8, 15877. (doi: 10.1038/ncomms15877) (PMID:28639625) (PMCID:PMC5489689)

Elmesmari, A., Alivernini, S., Tolusso, B., Vaughan, D. , Petricca, L., Gremese, E., Ferraccioli, G., McInnes, I. B. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2017) Synovial Tissue of RA Patients in Remission Contains a Unique Population of Regulatory Macrophages. EULAR 2017: Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, Madrid, Spain, 14-17 June 2017. (Unpublished)

Elmesmari, A., Alivernini, S., Vaughan, D. , Ferraccioli, G., McInnes, I. B. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2017) Characterisation of Synovium Tissues Macropahges. Rheumatology 2017, Birmingham, UK, 25-27 April 2017. (Unpublished)

Elmesmari, A., Alivernini, S., Tolusso, B., Vaughan, D. , Petricca, L., Gremese, E., Ferraccioli, G., McInnes, I. B. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2017) Synovial Tissue of RA Patients in Remission Contains a Unique Population of Regulatory Macrophages. 37th European Workshop for Rheumatology Research (EWRR 2017), Athens, Greece, 2-4 March 2017. (Unpublished)

2016

Elmesmari, A., Fraser, A. R., Wood, C., Gilchrist, D., Vaughan, D. , Stewart, L., McSharry, C., McInnes, I. B. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2016) MicroRNA-155 regulates monocyte chemokine and chemokine receptor expression in Rheumatoid Arthritis. Rheumatology, 55(11), pp. 2056-2065. (doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kew272) (PMID:27411480) (PMCID:PMC5088623)

Alivernini, S. et al. (2016) MicroRNA-155 influences B-cell function through PU.1 in rheumatoid arthritis. Nature Communications, 7, 12970. (doi: 10.1038/ncomms12970) (PMID:27671860) (PMCID:PMC5052655)

Elmesmari, A., Alivernini, S., McInnes, I. B. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2016) Targeting miR-155 in Rheumatoid Arthritis B Cells Reduces Antibody Production. Scottish Society of Rheumatology Meeting 2016, Dundee, 2016. (Unpublished)

2014

Elmesmari, A., Gilchrist, D. S., Fraser, A. R., Graham, G. J. , Brewer, J. , Kurowska-Stolarska, M. and McInnes, I. B. (2014) Mir-155 Expression Correlates with Clinical Disease Activity and has Effector Function in Rheumatoid Arthritis. 2014 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, 14-19 Nov 2014. (Unpublished)

Elmesmari, A., Gilchrist, D. S., Fraser, A. R., Vaughan, D. , Graham, G. J. , Brewer, J. , Kurowska-Stolarska, M. and McInnes, I. B. (2014) MicroRNA-155 Regulates Chemokines and Chemokine Receptors in Rheumatoid Arthritis Monocytes. Libya Higher Education Forum, London, UK, 5-6 June 2014. (Unpublished)

Elmesmari, A., Pushparaj, P. N., Reilly, J., Kerr, S., Kurowska-Stolarska, M. and McInnes, I. B. (2014) Role of SPHKs and S1PRs in Rheumatoid Arthritis. 3rd European Congress of Immunology (ECI 2012), Glasgow, UK, 5-8 Sept 2012. (Unpublished)

2012

Elmesmari, A., Gilchrist, D., Fraser, A., Brewer, J. , McInnes, I. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2012) The role of miR-155 in monocyte migration in Rheumatoid arthritis. In: European Congress of Immunology, Glasgow, UK, 5-8 Sept 2012, pp. 588-589. (doi: 10.1111/imm.12002)

2010

Combet, E., Elmesmari, A., Preston, T., Crozier, A. and McColl, K.E.L. (2010) Dietary phenolic acids and ascorbic acid: influence on acid-catalyzed nitrosative chemistry in the presence and absence of lipids. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 48(6), pp. 763-771. (doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2009.12.011)

2008

Elmesmari, A., Combet, E. and McColl, K.E.L. (2008) Antioxidants and the Inhibition of Gastric Luminal Nitrosative Stress; A Mechanism Relevant to Upper Gastrointestinal Malignancies. 1st Congress of the Libyan Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2008, Tripoli, Libya, Oct 2008. (Unpublished)

This list was generated on Tue Apr 16 05:08:41 2024 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Conference or Workshop Item | Conference Proceedings
Number of items: 26.

Articles

Paoletti, A. et al. (2024) Liposomal antagomiR-155-5p restores anti-inflammatory macrophages and improves arthritis in preclinical models of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis and Rheumatology, 76(1), pp. 18-31. (doi: 10.1002/art.42665) (PMID:37527031)

Clayton, S. A. et al. (2021) Inflammation causes remodeling of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase mediated by the bifunctional gene C15orf48. Science Advances, 7(50), eabl5182. (doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abl5182) (PMID:34878835)

MacDonald, L. et al. (2021) COVID-19 and RA share SPP1 myeloid pathway that drives PD-L1pos neutrophils and CD14pos monocytes. JCI Insight, 6(13), e147413. (doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.147413) (PMID:34143756) (PMCID:PMC8328085)

Alivernini, S. et al. (2020) Distinct synovial tissue macrophage subsets regulate inflammation and remission in rheumatoid arthritis. Nature Medicine, 26(8), pp. 1295-1306. (doi: 10.1038/s41591-020-0939-8) (PMID:32601335)

Hecht, I. et al. (2018) ILDR2 is a novel B7-like protein that negatively regulates T cell responses. Journal of Immunology, 200(6), pp. 2025-2037. (doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1700325) (PMID:29431694)

Jaigrdar, S. A., Benson, R. A. , Elmesmari, A., Kurowska-Stolarska, M. S. , McInnes, I. B. , Garside, P. and Macleod, M. K.L. (2017) Sphingosine-1-phosphate promotes the persistence of activated CD4 T cells in inflamed sites. Frontiers in Immunology, 8, 1627. (doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01627) (PMID:29225602) (PMCID:PMC5705559)

Kurowska-Stolarska, M. et al. (2017) MicroRNA-34a dependent regulation of AXL controls the activation of dendritic cells in inflammatory arthritis. Nature Communications, 8, 15877. (doi: 10.1038/ncomms15877) (PMID:28639625) (PMCID:PMC5489689)

Elmesmari, A., Fraser, A. R., Wood, C., Gilchrist, D., Vaughan, D. , Stewart, L., McSharry, C., McInnes, I. B. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2016) MicroRNA-155 regulates monocyte chemokine and chemokine receptor expression in Rheumatoid Arthritis. Rheumatology, 55(11), pp. 2056-2065. (doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kew272) (PMID:27411480) (PMCID:PMC5088623)

Alivernini, S. et al. (2016) MicroRNA-155 influences B-cell function through PU.1 in rheumatoid arthritis. Nature Communications, 7, 12970. (doi: 10.1038/ncomms12970) (PMID:27671860) (PMCID:PMC5052655)

Combet, E., Elmesmari, A., Preston, T., Crozier, A. and McColl, K.E.L. (2010) Dietary phenolic acids and ascorbic acid: influence on acid-catalyzed nitrosative chemistry in the presence and absence of lipids. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 48(6), pp. 763-771. (doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2009.12.011)

Conference or Workshop Item

Finlay, S. et al. (2019) Presence of the MerTK Receptor on Human Synovial Tissue Macrophages Lowers Inflammatory Cytokine Production and Activation of the MerTK+CD206+ Subpopulation Limits the Inflammatory Response of Synovial Fibroblasts. 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, USA, 08-13 Nov 2019.

Elmesmari, A. et al. (2019) Do Functional Interactions Between Macrophages and Synovial Fibroblasts Drive Synovial Pathology or Resolution of Inflammation? European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) 2019 Congress, Madrid, Spain, 12-15 Jun 2019.

Finlay, S. et al. (2019) Single-cell Transcriptomic and Functional Analyses Reveal Novel Heterogeneity in Pathogenic Pathways Mediated by Human Synovial Tissue Macrophages. European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) 2019 Congress, Madrid, Spain, 12-15 Jun 2019.

Alivernini, S. et al. (2018) Histological Features and Tissue-Macrophage Phenotype of Synovial Biopsies Identify RA Patients in Sustained Remission at Risk of Disease Flare after Treatment Tapering or Discontinuation. 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, 19-24 Oct 2018. (Unpublished)

Elmesmari, A., Alivernini, S., Tolusso, B., Bui, L., Vaughan, D. , Federico, F., Gremese, E., McInnes, I. B. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2018) Stolarska Synovial Tissue CD1c+ Dendritic Cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis Express High Levels of the Epigenetic Regulator of Inflammation, Microrna-155 and Inflammatory Cytokines. EULAR 2018: Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 13-16 June 2018. (Unpublished)

Finlay, S., Alivernini, S., Elmesmari, A., Tolusso, B., Ferraccioli, G., Gremese, E., Petricca, L., McInnes, I. B. , Kurowska-Stolarska, M. and Filer, A. (2018) Activation of Mertk+cd206+ Subpopulation of Human Synovial Tissue-Resident Macrophages Limits Inflammatory Response. EULAR 2018: Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 13-16 June 2018. (Unpublished)

Elmesmari, A., Alivernini, S., Tolusso, B., Vaughan, D. , Petricca, L., Gremese, E., Ferraccioli, G., McInnes, I. B. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2018) Synovial Tissue of RA Patients in Remission Contains a Unique Population of Regulatory Macrophages. Microphage Biology in the Single-Cell Era, Ghent, Belgium, 2018. (Unpublished)

Elmesmari, A., Alivernini, S., Tolusso, B., Vaughan, D. , Petricca, L., Gremese, E., Ferraccioli, G., McInnes, I. B. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2017) Synovial Tissue of RA Patients in Remission Contains a Unique Population of Regulatory Macrophages. EULAR 2017: Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, Madrid, Spain, 14-17 June 2017. (Unpublished)

Elmesmari, A., Alivernini, S., Vaughan, D. , Ferraccioli, G., McInnes, I. B. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2017) Characterisation of Synovium Tissues Macropahges. Rheumatology 2017, Birmingham, UK, 25-27 April 2017. (Unpublished)

Elmesmari, A., Alivernini, S., Tolusso, B., Vaughan, D. , Petricca, L., Gremese, E., Ferraccioli, G., McInnes, I. B. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2017) Synovial Tissue of RA Patients in Remission Contains a Unique Population of Regulatory Macrophages. 37th European Workshop for Rheumatology Research (EWRR 2017), Athens, Greece, 2-4 March 2017. (Unpublished)

Elmesmari, A., Alivernini, S., McInnes, I. B. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2016) Targeting miR-155 in Rheumatoid Arthritis B Cells Reduces Antibody Production. Scottish Society of Rheumatology Meeting 2016, Dundee, 2016. (Unpublished)

Elmesmari, A., Gilchrist, D. S., Fraser, A. R., Graham, G. J. , Brewer, J. , Kurowska-Stolarska, M. and McInnes, I. B. (2014) Mir-155 Expression Correlates with Clinical Disease Activity and has Effector Function in Rheumatoid Arthritis. 2014 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, 14-19 Nov 2014. (Unpublished)

Elmesmari, A., Gilchrist, D. S., Fraser, A. R., Vaughan, D. , Graham, G. J. , Brewer, J. , Kurowska-Stolarska, M. and McInnes, I. B. (2014) MicroRNA-155 Regulates Chemokines and Chemokine Receptors in Rheumatoid Arthritis Monocytes. Libya Higher Education Forum, London, UK, 5-6 June 2014. (Unpublished)

Elmesmari, A., Pushparaj, P. N., Reilly, J., Kerr, S., Kurowska-Stolarska, M. and McInnes, I. B. (2014) Role of SPHKs and S1PRs in Rheumatoid Arthritis. 3rd European Congress of Immunology (ECI 2012), Glasgow, UK, 5-8 Sept 2012. (Unpublished)

Elmesmari, A., Combet, E. and McColl, K.E.L. (2008) Antioxidants and the Inhibition of Gastric Luminal Nitrosative Stress; A Mechanism Relevant to Upper Gastrointestinal Malignancies. 1st Congress of the Libyan Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2008, Tripoli, Libya, Oct 2008. (Unpublished)

Conference Proceedings

Elmesmari, A., Gilchrist, D., Fraser, A., Brewer, J. , McInnes, I. and Kurowska-Stolarska, M. (2012) The role of miR-155 in monocyte migration in Rheumatoid arthritis. In: European Congress of Immunology, Glasgow, UK, 5-8 Sept 2012, pp. 588-589. (doi: 10.1111/imm.12002)

This list was generated on Tue Apr 16 05:08:41 2024 BST.

Supervision

PhD Supervision


A head and shoulders shot of Dr Aziza Elmesmari