Regulation of melanocyte chemokine expression by folliculin protein in vitiligo patients / 中华医学美学美容杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the effect of human tumor suppressor folliculin (FLCN) on the expression of melanocyte chemokines (MC) mediated by immune factors in vitiligo.Methods:The MC of vitiligo patients that received autologous melanocyte transplantation in the Department of Dermatology, Hangzhou Third People′s Hospital from January to April 2019 were collected. The blister fluid of the white spot and the normal part was taken. Western blot was used to analyze the expression difference of MC and FLCN protein in normal, vitiligo patients and that induced by immune factors; FLCN shRNA lentivirus was constructed by shRNA and transfected into normal MC (FLCN shRNA MC) to interfere with the expression of silenced FLCN gene. The effect of immune factors on chemokines in FLCN shRNA MC was detected by ELISA.Results:The results of Western blot showed that FLCN protein was highly expressed in melanocytes of vitiligo patients, immune factors stimulated FLCN protein expression in normal melanocytes significantly increased ( t=1.27; P<0.001), chemokine CXCL10 and CCL20 also significantly increased ( t=104.53 and 60.21, respectively; P<0.001). The expression of FLCN in FLCN shRNA MC was significantly decreased ( F=1.95, P<0.001); and the high expression of CXCL10 and CCL20 induced by immune factors was significantly inhibited ( F=93.676 and 74.096, all P<0.001). Conclusions:Immune factors can stimulate the expression of CXCL10 and CCL20, which are closely related to vitiligo, while FLCN is a key protein involved in immune factors inducing melanocyte chemokine expression.