Biological indicators related to disease activity of chronic spontaneous urticaria: an update / 中华皮肤科杂志

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a recurrent systemic inflammatory disease. At present, there are few biological indicators that can effectively reflect CSU activity in clinical practice, and some indicators have not been widely used. To identify sensitive and easy-to-check indicators may be helpful for the diagnosis and treatment of as well as prediction of therapeutic efficacy in CSU. This review comprehensively summarizes current clinical application of indicators related to CSU activity, in order to provide a reference for clinical practice and related scientific research.

Correlation between chronic sinusitis subtypes and basophil levels in peripheral blood / 临床耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

Objective:To explore the clinical correlation between peripheral blood basophil levels and chronic sinusitis （CRS） subtypes. Methods:One hundred and twenty-six patients with CRS and 103 healthy cases from physical examination admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January 2021 to October 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the histopathological classification, CRS patients were divided into eosinophilic chronic sinusitis （eCRS） group （47 cases） and non eosinophilic chronic sinusitis （non-eCRS） group （79 cases）. The differences among the three groups in peripheral blood inflammation cell counts, eosinophils-to-basophils ratio（bEBR）, basophils-to-neutrophils ratio（BNR）, basophils-to-lymphocytes ratio（BLR）, basophils-to-monocytes ratio（BMR） were compared, and study the correlation between each index and Lund-Mackay score, and the correlation between basophils in peripheral blood and other inflammatory cells. Results:The counts of basophils in the peripheral blood of the healthy control group, eCRS group and non-eCRS group were 0.03±0.01, 0.04±0.02, 0.03±0.02, respectively, the eosinophils-to-basophils ratio（bEBR） were 5.64±4.22, 8.38±5.95, 4.55±3.90, the basophils-to-neutrophils ratio（BNR） were 0.01±0, 0.01±0.01, 0.01±0.01, and the basophils-to-lymphocytes ratio（BLR） were 0.01±0.01, 0.02±0.01, and 0.02±0.01, respectively, the basophils-to-monocytes ratio（BMR） were 0.08±0.04, 0.11±0.06, and 0.08 ±0.04 respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between eCRS group and healthy control group, non-eCRS group（P<0.01）, while there was no statistically significant difference between non-eCRS group and healthy control group（P>0.05）. Basophil counts （r=0.185 5, P<0.05）, BLR（r=0.226 9, P<0.05）, BMR（r=0.228 1, P<0.01） in patients with CRS were positively correlated with Lund Makey score. In addition, basophils were also positively correlated with eosinophils（r=0.479 2, P<0.01）, lymphocytes（r=0.259 4, P<0.01）, and monocytes（r=0.256 4, P<0.01） in patients with CRS. Conclusion:The peripheral blood basophil count, BLR and BMR were significantly increased in eCRS, and were significantly positively correlated with Lund -Makey score. It has the potential to develop into disease biomarkers and new therapeutic targets of eCRS.

Effects of a fusion protein LTβR-Fc on ovalbumin-induced dermatitis in a mouse model / 中华皮肤科杂志

Objective To evaluate effects of a fusion protein LTβR-Fc, which can block the herpesvirus entry mediator ligand (LIGHT-HVEM)signaling pathway, on ovalbumin-induced dermatitis in a mouse model. Methods Thirty BALB/c mice were randomly and equally divided into 3 groups: blank control group treated with 100 μl of sodium chloride physiological solution, model group sensitized with 100 μl of sodium chloride physiological solution containing 100 μg ovalbumin, blocker group firstly blocked with 100 μl of sodium chloride physiological solution containing 100 μg LTβR-Fc followed by sensitization with 100 μl of sodium chloride physiological solution containing 100 μg ovalbumin at 24 hours after the blocking. Disease severity was evaluated by eczema area and severity index (EASI)score, and lesional size was measured on day 0, 4, 8, 12, 15, 20, 23, 27, 31 and 34 after the first sensitization. A total of three sessions of sensitization were carried out. At the end of treatment, all the mice were sacrificed after serum was obtained from their orbital cavities. Thereafter, tissue specimens were obtained from skin lesions, and single cell suspensions of the spleen were prepared. RT-PCR was performed to detect mRNA expressions of interferon γ (IFN-γ), interleukin 4 (IL-4)and IL-5 in murine lesions, ELISA to measure IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-5 levels in culture supernatants of murine splenocytes, as well as ovalbumin-specific and total IgE and IgG1 levels in murine sera. Results LTβR-Fc significantly suppressed inflammatory response in the mouse model of dermatitis induced by ovalbumin. Compared with the model group, the blocker group showed significantly decreased lesion area and EASI score (both P < 0.05). In addition, a significant decrease was observed in the mRNA expressions of IL-4 (0.88 ± 0.25 vs. 1.81 ± 0.25, P < 0.05), IL-5 (0.75 ± 0.15 vs. 1.24 ± 0.26, P < 0.05)and IFN-γ (0.62 ± 0.09 vs. 1.11 ± 0.19, P < 0.05)in murine lesions, and in supernatant levels of IL-4 (9.58 ± 1.44 ng/L vs. 20.12 ± 5.39 ng/L, P < 0.05), IL-5 (11.37 ± 2.02 ng/L vs. 22.77 ± 4.07 ng/L, P < 0.05)and IFN-γ (16 167 ± 950.40 ng/L vs. 23 930 ± 44.20 ng/L, P < 0.05)in the blocker group compared with the model group. The serum levels of both total IgE and ovalbumin-specific IgE were significantly lower in the blocker group than in the model group(total IgE: 27 466.67 ± 2 052.64 μg/L vs. 32 277 ± 407.53 μg/L, P < 0.05; ovalbumin-specific IgE: 1 296.33 ± 32.72 μg/L vs. 2 323.33 ± 502.43 μg/L, P < 0.05), so were those of total IgG1 (0.46 ± 0.11 μg/L vs. 0.84 ± 0.11 μg/L, P < 0.05)and ovalbumin-specific IgG1 (0.62 ± 0.11 μg/L vs. 0.86 ± 0.07 μg/L, P < 0.05). Conclusion The fusion protein LTβR-Fc can alleviate symptoms of ovalbumin-induced dermatitis in the mouse model likely by suppressing the LIGHT-HVEM signaling pathway, suggesting that this signaling pathway may serve as a target for the treatment of dermatitis(such as atopic dermatitis).