Topic: APS and Other Immune-mediated Vascular Disorders: Mechanisms, Biomarkers and Therapeutic Opportunities

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune disorder burdened by several clinical manifestations, the pivotal ones being vascular thrombosis and pregnancy morbidity. It should be thought of particularly in young patients presenting with unexplained and recurrent thrombotic events. APS shares several pathogenic mechanisms —endothelial dysfunction, complement activation, neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation and autoantibody-mediated vascular injury among others — with a broader spectrum of immune-mediated vascular disorders, such as ANCA-associated vasculitides, Behçet's syndrome, systemic sclerosis-related vasculopathy, systemic lupus erythematosus vasculopathy, thrombotic microangiopathies as Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP) and atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS), disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and other autoimmune or autoinflammatory conditions affecting the vascular endothelium.

This Special Issue, while primarily dedicated to APS, welcomes contributions on this wider spectrum of immune-mediated vascular disorders, in order to foster a cross-disciplinary dialogue between rheumatology, hematology, nephrology, dermatology, cardiology, obstetrics, and translational vascular biology. We invite the submission of original research articles, reviews, and meta-analyses addressing shared and disease-specific mechanisms, novel biomarkers, and emerging therapeutic strategies, with the ultimate goal of improving early diagnosis, risk stratification, and prevention of vascular complications across this heterogeneous group of conditions.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

● Pathogenic mechanisms of APS and other immune-mediated vasculopathies (endothelial dysfunction, complement activation, NETosis, autoantibody profiles);

● Catastrophic APS and other thrombotic microangiopathies;

● Novel and emerging biomarkers for diagnosis, risk stratification, and monitoring;

● Anticoagulant, antiplatelet, and immunomodulatory/biologic therapies;

● Obstetric complications and pregnancy management in autoimmune vascular disease;

● Overlap between APS, vasculitides, and connective tissue disease-associated vasculopathy;

● Cardiovascular and renal complications of immune-mediated vascular disorders;

● Translational and experimental models of autoimmune vascular injury.

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), immune-mediated vascular disorders, endothelial dysfunction, vascular thrombosis, biomarkers