Research
The vasculitis and lupus clinic specialises in looking after patients with diseases caused by an overactive immune system (autoimmune diseases).
The most common of these diseases, that affect multiple parts of the body, are vasculitis and lupus (also known as SLE). However, the clinic also receives referrals of patients with other rare, autoimmune diseases such as:
- Wegener’s granulomatosis
- Microscopic polyangiitis
- Churg-Strauss angiitis
- Polyarteritis nodosa
- Giant cell arteritis
- Takayasu’s arteritis
- Cryogobulinaemia
- Henoch-Schonlein purpura
- Lupus (SLE)
- Behcet’s disease
- Autoimmune deafness
- Autoinflammatory syndromes
Publications
McKinney EF, Willcocks LC, Broecker V, Smith KG. The immunopathology of ANCA-associated vasculitis. Semin Immunopathol. 2014 Jul;36(4):461-78.
Clatworthy MR, Matthews RJ, Doehler B, Willcocks LC, Opelz G, Smith KG. Defunctioning Polymorphism in the Immunoglobulin G Inhibitory Receptor (FcγRIIB-T/T232) Does not Impact on Kidney Transplant or Recipient Survival. Transplantation. 2014 Aug 15;98(3):285-91.
De Sousa E, Smith R, Chaudhry A, Willcocks L, Jayne D. Venous thromboembolism with concurrent pulmonary haemorrhage in systemic vasculitis. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2012 Dec;27(12):4357-61.
Smith KG, Willcocks LC, Lyons PA. Comment on "The inhibiting Fc receptor for IgG, FcγRIIB, is a modifier of autoimmune susceptibility". J Immunol. 2011 Dec 1;187(11):5473;
McGovern NN, Cowburn AS, Porter L, Walmsley SR, Summers C, Thompson AA, Anwar S, Willcocks LC, Whyte MK, Condliffe AM, Chilvers ER. Hypoxia selectively inhibits respiratory burst activity and killing of Staphylococcus aureus in human neutrophils. J Immunol. 2011 Jan 1;186(1):453-63.
McKinney EF, Lyons PA, Carr EJ, Hollis JL, Jayne DR, Willcocks LC, Koukoulaki M, Brazma A, Jovanovic V, Kemeny DM, Pollard AJ, Macary PA, Chaudhry AN, Smith KG. A CD8+ T cell transcription signature predicts prognosis in autoimmune disease. Nat Med. 2010 May;16(5):586-91
Willcocks LC, Carr EJ, Niederer HA, Rayner TF, Williams TN, Yang W, Scott JA, Urban BC, Peshu N, Vyse TJ, Lau YL, Lyons PA, Smith KG. A defunctioning polymorphism in FCGR2B is associated with protection against malaria but susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Apr 27;107(17):7881-5.
Willcocks LC, Lyons PA, Rees AJ, Smith KG. The contribution of genetic variation and infection to the pathogenesis of ANCA-associated systemic vasculitis. Arthritis Res Ther. 2010;12(1):202.
