Polona Žigon

University Medical Centre Ljubljana

Dr. Polona Žigon is a senior scientist at the Department of Rheumatology, University Medical Center Ljubljana, Slovenia, and is a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, Slovenia. She obtained an MSc in Clinical Biochemistry in 2008 and a Ph.D. in Biomedicine in 2014 at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana. During her post-graduate studies, she completed a six-month research internship in the School of Medicine, Hokkaido University Sapporo, Japan. She is a member of the Slovene Chamber Laboratory Medicine, a working member of EMEUNET, and a member of the Autoimmunity Network. Her research in the field of systemic autoimmune diseases resulted in more than thirty original scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals, six book chapters, and one patent application.

1books edited

3chapters authored

Latest work with IntechOpen by Polona Žigon

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an acquired autoimmune disorder in which the immune system mistakenly produces antiphospholipid antibodies that attack tissues in the body. These antibodies can lead to the formation of blood clots in arteries and veins. During pregnancy, APS can also lead to miscarriage and stillbirth. Classification criteria require a clinical event (i.e., thrombosis or pregnancy complication) and persistent positive blood test results at least three months apart that detect lupus anticoagulant, anti-cardiolipin antibodies, or anti-β2-glycoprotein-1 antibodies. This book addresses important clinical aspects of APS, including stroke and APS, obstetric manifestations of APS, and bleeding complications in APS. It also discusses the diagnostic utility of a novel autoantibody against β2-glycoprotein I/HLA class II complexes as a promising biomarker for APS. Finally, this book also reviews the latest findings in the field of extracellular vesicles in APS and provides explanations of their role in the pathogenesis of APS.

Go to the book

Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Edited by Polona Žigon

Chapters authored

Laboratory Methodology Important in the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Antiphospholipid Syndrome

By Polona Žigon, Mojca Božič-Mijovski, Mojca Frank Bertoncelj, Aleš Ambrožič, Matija Tomšič, Alojzija Hočevar, Borut Božič, Snežna Sodin Šemrl, Tanja Kveder and Saša Čučnik

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disease, characterized by thrombosis and pregnancy complications with persistently elevated levels of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). Recently, a unique mathematical calculation has been presented to assess the risk of thrombosis in patients with APS called antiphospholipid score or global antiphospholipid syndrome score (GAPSS). This new approach in the diagnosis of APS leads to the assessment of the risk of thrombosis considering the results of different aPL (lupus anticoagulants (LA), anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL), antibodies against β2GPI (anti-β2GPI), and phosphatidylserine-dependent antiprothrombin antibodies (aPS/PT) (isotypes IgG and IgM). This chapter provides an overview of the algorithm strategy for APS diagnosis with the aims of characterizing in detail the laboratory methodology of criteria aPL (LA, aCL, and anti-β2GPI) and noncriteria aPL, such as IgA aCL and IgA anti-β2GPI, anti-domain I β2GPI, and antiprothrombin antibodies. In order to improve APS diagnosis, several new approaches in aPL detection have recently been suggested, such as multiline immunodot assay, detection of aPL by flow cytometry using beads with particular surface properties, and the newly developed automated BioPlex system technology for parallel detection of aCL and anti-β2GPI antibodies of IgG, IgA, and IgM isotypes. A completely different and promising approach in future research lies in the potential of microRNAs as biomarkers for risk of thrombosis and/or obstetric complication.

Part of the book: Thrombosis, Atherosclerosis and Atherothrombosis

Extracellular Vesicles: Intercellular Communication Mediators in Antiphospholipid Syndrome

By Ula Štok, Saša Čučnik, Snežna Sodin-Šemrl and Polona Žigon

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by thrombosis, obstetric complications and the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) that cause endothelial injury and thrombophilia. Extracellular vesicles are involved in endothelial and thrombotic pathologies and may therefore have an influence on the prothrombotic status of APS patients. Intercellular communication and connectivity are important mechanisms of interaction between healthy and pathologically altered cells. Despite well-characterized in vitro and in vivo models of APS pathology, the field of extracellular vesicles is still largely unexplored and could therefore provide an insight into the APS mechanism and possibly serve as a biomarker to identify patients at increased risk. The analysis of EVs poses a challenge due to the lack of standardized technology for their isolation and characterization. Recent findings in the field of EVs offer promising aspects that may explain their role in the pathogenesis of various diseases, including APS.

Part of the book: Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Introductory Chapter: Antiphospholipid Antibodies - A Laboratory Criterion for the Antiphospholipid Syndrome, but Also Bystanders in Infections, Cancer, and Other Conditions

By Polona Žigon

Part of the book: Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Polona Žigon

Latest work with IntechOpen by Polona Žigon

Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Chapters authored

Related collaborators

Snežna Sodin-Šemrl

Mojca Božič-Mijovski

Borut Božič

Mojca Frank Bertoncelj

Saša Čučnik

Matija Tomšič

Vinko Boc

Vladka Salapura

Aleš Blinc

Mojca Stegnar