**1. Introduction**

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Vessels and the vascular endothelium are involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory rheumatic diseases a family of related disorders that include rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and systemic sclerosis (SSc). In these conditions vascular involvement is very important. This chapter aims to give an overview of the prevalence of the different forms of vasculopathy/vasculitis that can be encountered in the RA, SLE and SSc patients, describe their pathogenesis, and address their impact on disease severity and outcome. All of these rheumatic diseases involve some level of underlying vasculitis.

SSc is a connective tissue disease characterized by fibrosis and vasculopathy involving multiple organ systems. Many clinical complications of SSc are due to dysfunction of vascular beds throughout the body. Involvement of the microvasculature leads to cutaneous and mucosal telangiectasias, digital ulcers, and tissue ischemia. If medium-sized blood vessels are involved, manifestations include gangrene, digital loss, renal crisis, and pulmonary arterial hypertension. While occlusive vasculopathy is a well-recognized feature of SSc, less is known about the occurrence and the consequences of frank vascular inflammation. Albeit rare, typical vasculitis with inflammatory infiltrates damaging blood vessels has been reported in patients with systemic sclerosis. The distinction between SSc vasculopathy and SSc-associated vascu‐ litis can be difficult to make based on clinical presentation alone, but knowledge of the underlying pathogenesis and histopathology can be very helpful. In the current pathogenic model of SSc, a vascular injury of unknown cause leads to endothelial apoptosis and initiates the process of SSc vasculopathy. Continuous endothelial dysfunction likely contributes to activation of adventitial fibroblasts with resultant intimal proliferation, eventual luminal narrowing, and tissue hypoxia. Histopathology of SSc vasculopathy reflects the underlying pathogenesis, with myofibroblast proliferation and matrix deposit in the subendothelial layer leading to obliterative thickening of vessel walls. Inflammatory infiltrates are absent, and the internal elastic lamina remains intact. In contrast to vasculopathy, concurrent vasculitis in SSc

© 2013 Radić and Radić; licensee InTech. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2013 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

shows histopathologic evidence of inflammation, with presence of mononuclear infiltrates and destruction of the vascular wall. However, vasculitis is known to occur even in the setting of a disease predisposing towards vasculopathy, and histology is required to distinguish the two pathogenic processes.

loss, and loss of energy. Higher titers of rheumatoid factors, antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptides (anti CCP), and circulating immune complexes with lower C4 levels are detected in the sera of patients with RA and vasculitis, compared with patients with RA only. Deposition of rheumatoid factor-containing immune complexes likely contributes to vessel inflammation and damage through binding to cell surface Fc receptors, activation of the complement cascade,

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SSc is a connective tissue disease characterized by fibrosis and vasculopathy involving multiple organ systems. Classification into diffuse or limited cutaneous forms depends on the extent of skin thickening, with the former affecting areas proximal to the elbows or knees, and the latter limited to the face and distal extremities [1]. Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) has two very different subsets: limited scleroderma and diffuse scleroderma. These can be identified by differences in clinical findings and by the temporal relationship to vasospasm. Limited scleroderma is so named because skin involvement is limited to the hands and face. Limited SSc is characterized by calcinosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, sclero‐ dactyly, and telangiectasia (CREST syndrome). The most common cause of death in limited scleroderma is pulmonary hypertension or pulmonary fibrosis. Because Raynaud's phenom‐ enon is a near universal prodrome, there are long-standing suggestions that the initial event in limited SSc may affect the vasculature [2]. Even in localized SSc, which has fewer systemic features, Raynaud's progresses to peripheral ischemia with digital ulceration and loss of fingers [3]. Although the vasospasm associated with Raynaud's phenomenon may be prodro‐ mal, it is not itself a sufficient cause of the disease because symptoms of vasospasm can precede diagnosis of limited SSc by many years, and the incidence of SSc in the population of people with Raynaud's phenomenon is very low [4]. Diffuse SSc appears with a much wider extent of skin involvement. Patients with diffuse SSc are prone to kidney crisis and pulmonary fibrosis. These patients develop Raynaud's phenomenon within 1 year of onset of symptoms but they tend to not have it as a prodrome. Both limited and diffuse SSc patients have ischemic changes in their digits (80%–95% have Raynaud's phenomenon), some with ulcers, gangrene, and loss of fingers [3]. Many clinical complications of SSc are due to dysfunction of vascular beds throughout the body. Involvement of the microvasculature leads to cutaneous and mucosal telangiectasias, digital ulcers, and tissue ischemia. If medium-sized blood vessels are involved, manifestations include gangrene, digital loss, renal crisis, and pulmonary arterial hypertension [5]. While occlusive vasculopathy is a well-recognized feature of SSc, less is known about the occurrence and the consequences of frank vascular inflammation. The distinction between SSc vasculopathy and vasculitis can be difficult to make based on clinical presentation alone, but knowledge of the underlying pathogenesis and histopathology can be very helpful. In the current pathogenic model of SSc, a vascular injury of unknown cause leads to endothelial apoptosis and initiates the process of SSc vasculopathy. Autoantibodies, reperfusion injury, infection, and defects in vascular repair have all been implicated as possible

and release of proinflammatory cytokines.

**2. Systemic sclerosis (SSc)**

**2.1. SSc vasculopathy**

SLE is a connective tissue autoimmune disease, where vasculopathy is one of the typical symptoms. It is reported in 10-40% of patients. It occurs more often in women (80%) than in men and may precede the development of a full-blown SLE. The differentiation of the type of vascular complications is very difficult, sometimes impossible, and requires an in-depth immune, histopathologic and imaging diagnostic approaches, and extensive clinical experi‐ ence. It may play a key role in the choice of treatment strategy and prediction of the patient prognosis. Therefore, the awareness of the etiology, pathophysiology, the clinical and histo‐ pathogical setting, and SLE associated vascular complications is of great clinical significance. Vascular lesions in SLE are commonly known as the lupus vasculopathy; a typical lupus vasculitis with inflammatory and vascular wall necrosis and a thrombus in the lumen of affected artery occurs less often. SLE-associated vasculitis may present different clinical courses. The broad spectrum of symptoms includes mild forms affecting only cutaneous vessels, and also severe, catastrophic forms, with organ complications development, and vasculitis within the internal organs. Lupus vasculopathy is usually seen in cutaneous vessels, in renal glomeruli, coronary and brain vessels, the brain, lung alveoli and less often in the gastrointestinal tract. It has to be stressed that cutaneous lupus vasculopathy in systemic lupus erythematosus occurs most often, and is reported in 94% of patients with lupus vasculitis.

Systemic rheumatoid vasculitis is a multisystem autoimmune inflammatory condition of small and medium-sized vessels that typically affects a subset of patients with longstanding seropositive RA and alters the course and prognosis of the disease. Mortality rates are high, with significant morbidity. Systemic rheumatoid vasculitis refers to patients with rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic disease with painful inflammation of the joints, who also develop inflam‐ matory disease in small and medium-sized blood vessels. The reason why systemic rheuma‐ toid vasculitis develops in some RA patients and not others is not clear. Genetic factors may be involved. Viral infections and drug reactions have been suggested as causes of systemic rheumatoid vasculitis. The blood vessels most often involved are arteries that bring blood to the skin, nerves, and internal organs. Veins can also be involved. When systemic rheumatoid vasculitis involves the small arteries and veins that nourish the skin of the fingertips and skin around the nails, small pits in the fingertips or small sores causing pain and redness around the nails can occur. Involvement of somewhat larger arteries and veins of the skin can cause a painful red rash that often involves the legs. If the skin is very inflamed, ulcers can occur and infection becomes a complicating risk. Systemic rheumatoid vasculitis that injures the nerves can cause loss of sensation, numbness and tingling, or potentially weakness or loss of function of the hands and/or feet. The rare systemic rheumatoid vasculitis of larger arteries can cause complete absence of blood flow to tissue sites supplied by the affected vessel (termed occlusion, resulting in infarction), which can cause gangrene of fingers or toes, stomach pain, cough, chest pain, heart attack, and/or a stroke if the brain is involved. This form of systemic rheumatoid vasculitis can also be accompanied by general symptoms such as fever, loss of appetite, weight loss, and loss of energy. Higher titers of rheumatoid factors, antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptides (anti CCP), and circulating immune complexes with lower C4 levels are detected in the sera of patients with RA and vasculitis, compared with patients with RA only. Deposition of rheumatoid factor-containing immune complexes likely contributes to vessel inflammation and damage through binding to cell surface Fc receptors, activation of the complement cascade, and release of proinflammatory cytokines.
