Scalp psoriasis shows a variable clinical spectrum and in many cases poses a great therapeutic challenge. However, it remains unknown whether the immune response of scalp psoriasis differs from understood pathomechanisms of psoriasis on other skin areas. We sought to determine the cellular and mollecular phenotype of scalp psoriasis by performing a comparative analysis of scalp vs skin using lesional and nonlesional samples from 20 Caucasian subjects with untreated moderate to severe psoriasis and significant scalp involvement, and 10 control subjects without psoriasis. Our results suggest that even in the scalp psoriasis is a disease of the inter-follicular skin. The immune mechanisms that mediate scalp psoriasis were found to be similar to those involved in skin psoriasis. However, the magnitude of dysregulation, number of differentially expressed genes, and enrichment of the psoriatic genomic fingerprinting were more prominent in skin lesions. Furthermore, the scalp transcriptome showed increased modulation of several gene-sets, particularly those induced by interferon-gamma, compared with skin psoriasis which was mainly associated with activation of TNF/L-17/IL-22-induced keratinocyte response genes. We also detected differences in expression of gene-sets involving negative regulation, epigenetic regulation, epidermal differentiation, and dendritic cell or Th1/Th17/Th22-related T-cell processes.
Molecular and Cellular Profiling of Scalp Psoriasis Reveals Differences and Similarities Compared to Skin Psoriasis.
Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesAtopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin disease with a T(H)2 and T22 immune polarity. Despite recent data showing a genetic predisposition to epidermal barrier defects in some patients, a fundamental debate still exists regarding the role of barrier abnormalities versus immune responses in initiating the disease. An extensive study of nonlesional AD (ANL) skin is necessary to explore whether there is an intrinsic predisposition to barrier abnormalities, background immune activation, or both in patients with AD. We sought to characterize ANL skin by determining whether epidermal differentiation and immune abnormalities that characterize lesional AD (AL) skin are also reflected in ANL skin. We performed genomic and histologic profiling of both ANL and AL skin lesions (n = 12 each) compared with normal human skin (n = 10). We found that ANL skin is clearly distinct from normal skin with respect to terminal differentiation and some immune abnormalities and that it has a cutaneous expansion of T cells. We also showed that ANL skin has a variable immune phenotype, which is largely determined by disease extent and severity. Whereas broad terminal differentiation abnormalities were largely similar between involved and uninvolved AD skin, perhaps accounting for the background skin phenotype, increased expression of immune-related genes was among the most obvious differences between AL and ANL skin, potentially reflecting the clinical disease phenotype. Our study implies that systemic immune activation might play a role in alteration of the normal epidermal phenotype, as suggested by the high correlation in expression of immune genes in ANL skin with the disease severity index.
Nonlesional atopic dermatitis skin is characterized by broad terminal differentiation defects and variable immune abnormalities.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesIn this study we used genomic profiling to characterize differences in expression of genes related to epidermal growth/differentiation and inflammatory circuits in skin lesions of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis (AD), comparing expression values to normal skin. Skin biopsies were collected from 9 patients with chronic atopic dermatitis, 15 psoriasis patients, and 9 healthy volunteers.
Broad defects in epidermal cornification in atopic dermatitis identified through genomic analysis.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesHouse dust mite/HDM atopy patch test/APT elicits positive reactions in the majority of atopic dermatitis/AD and healthy individuals. Experimental systems for new-onset/chronic AD are needed to support rapid therapeutic development, particularly since animal models representing AD pathology in humans are lacking. HDM APT historically simulated AD, but its suitability to model the emerging AD skin phenotype as Th2/Th22 polarized with Th1 and Th17 components is unknown. To assess whether HDM APT tissues reproduce acute or chronic AD, positive HDM APT (n=14) were compared with nonlesional, acute (<72hrs; n=10), and chronic phase AD biopsies (n=8), allergic contact reactions (to nickel [n=10] and fragrance [n=3]) using arrays.
Dust mite induces multiple polar T cell axes in human skin.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesAtopic dermatitis (AD) is a common disease, with an increasing prevalence. The primary pathogenesis of the disease is still elusive, resulting in lack of specific treatments. The prevailing view is that AD is a biphasic, T-cell polarized disease, with Th2 predominating acute AD, and a switch to Th1 characterizing chronic disease. Identification of factors that participate in onset of lesions and maintenance of chronic lesions is critical for development of targeted therapeutics. We performed global genomic, molecular and cellular profiling of paired non-lesional, acute, and chronic skin biopsies from ten AD patients. Onset of acute lesions is associated with a striking increase in a subset of terminal differentiation proteins, specifically the IL-22-modulated S100A7-9. Correspondingly, acute disease is associated with significant increases in gene expression levels of the major Th22- (IL-22) and Th2- (IL-4, IL-31) cytokines and Th17-regulated genes (CCL20, PI3/Elafin), without significant changes in IL-17. A lesser induction of Th1- (IFN, MX-1, CXCL9-11) associated genes was detected in acute disease. Chronic skin lesions are characterized by significantly intensified activation of Th22, Th2 and Th1. Our data establish increased expression of S100A7-9 and other epidermal genes at onset of acute AD, with parallel activation of Th2 and Th22 cytokines. Our findings suggest an absence of switch mechanism in chronic disease and instead indicate that progression to chronic lesions is associated with intensified activation of immune axes that initiate onset of acute lesions, particularly Th22 and Th2. This alters the prevailing view of pathogenesis, with important therapeutic implications.
Progressive activation of T(H)2/T(H)22 cytokines and selective epidermal proteins characterizes acute and chronic atopic dermatitis.
Age, Subject
View SamplesBackground: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin disease exhibiting a predominantly Th2/T22 immune activation and a defective epidermal barrier. Narrow-band UVB (NB-UVB) is considered an efficient treatment for moderate to severe AD. In psoriasis, NB-UVB has been found to suppress the Th1/Th17 immune polarization with subsequent reversal of epidermal hyperplasia. The immunomodulatory effects of this treatment are largely unknown in AD. Our study evaluates the effects of NB-UVB on immune and barrier abnormalities in AD, aiming to establish reversibility of disease and biomarkers of therapeutic response. Methods: 12 moderate-to-severe chronic AD patients received NB-UVB phototherapy 3 times weekly for up to 12 weeks. Lesional and non-lesional skin biopsies were obtained before and after treatment and evaluated by gene-expression and immunohistochemistry studies. Results: All patients had at least a 50% reduction in SCORing of AD (SCORAD) index with NB-UVB phototherapy. The Th2, T22, and Th1 immune pathways were suppressed and measures of epidermal hyperplasia and differentiation also normalized after phototherapy. The reversal of disease activity was associated with elimination of inflammatory leukocytes, Th2/T22-associated cytokines and chemokines, and normalized expression of barrier proteins. Conclusions: Our study shows reversal of both the epidermal defects and underlying immune activation in AD. By determining the correlation of variables with therapeutic response, we have defined a set of biomarkers of disease response that associate resolved Th2 and T22 inflammation with reversal of barrier pathology. This data supports the inside-out hypothesis of AD, suggesting that it is a disease primarily driven by an immune stimulus.
Reversal of atopic dermatitis with narrow-band UVB phototherapy and biomarkers for therapeutic response.
Specimen part, Treatment, Subject, Time
View SamplesDifferent allergens induce different immune responses
Molecular profiling of contact dermatitis skin identifies allergen-dependent differences in immune response.
Sex, Subject
View SamplesCellular and molecular differences between DNs and CMNs are not completely understood. Using cDNA microarray, quantitative RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry, we molecularly characterized DNs and analyzed the difference between DNs and CMNs.
Discrimination of Dysplastic Nevi from Common Melanocytic Nevi by Cellular and Molecular Criteria.
Specimen part
View SamplesAfter 2 and 12 weeks of treatment, we observed significant reductions of 51% and 72%, respectively, in SCORAD scores. Clinical improvements were associated with significant gene expression changes in lesional but also nonlesional skin, particularly reductions in levels of TH2-, TH22-, and some TH17-related molecules (ie, IL-13, IL-22, CCL17, S100As, and elafin/peptidase inhibitor 3), and modulation of epidermal hyperplasia and differentiation measures.
Cyclosporine in patients with atopic dermatitis modulates activated inflammatory pathways and reverses epidermal pathology.
Sex, Age, Time
View SamplesMicroglia are yolk sac-derived macrophages residing in the parenchyma of brain and spinal cord, where they interact with neurons and other glial cells by constantly probing their surroundings with dynamic extensions. After different conditioning paradigms and bone marrow (BM) or hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation, graft-derived cells seed the brain and persistently contribute to the parenchymal brain macrophage compartment. Here we establish that graft-derived macrophages acquire, over time, microglia characteristics, including ramified morphology, longevity, radio-resistance and clonal expansion. However, even after prolonged CNS residence, transcriptomes and chromatin accessibility landscapes of engrafted, BM-derived macrophages remain distinct from yolk sac-derived host microglia. Furthermore, engrafted BM-derived cells display discrete responses to peripheral endotoxin challenge, as compared to host microglia. In human HSC transplant recipients, engrafted cells also remain distinct from host microglia, extending our finding to clinical settings. Collectively, our data emphasize the molecular and functional heterogeneity of parenchymal brain macrophages and highlight potential clinical implications for HSC gene therapies aimed to ameliorate lysosomal storage disorders, microgliopathies or general monogenic immuno-deficiencies. Overall design: overall there are 28 samples, from total of 2 experiments. in each experiment there were at least 3 biological repeats (3 individual mice). Sorting of the CD45.1 and CD45.2 populations were performed from the same animal. Animals were either injected with LPS (2.5 mg/kg) or untreated.
Engrafted parenchymal brain macrophages differ from microglia in transcriptome, chromatin landscape and response to challenge.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View Samples