ABSTRACT
Itch which is one of the major, subjective symptoms in a course of bullous pemphigoid and dermatitis herpetiformis makes those two diseases totally different than other autoimmune blistering diseases. Its pathogenesis is still not fully known. The aim of this research was to assess the role of IL-31 in development of itch as well as to measure its intensity. Obtained results, as well as literature data, show that lower concentration of IL-31 in patients' serum may be correlated with its role in JAK/STAT signaling pathway which is involved in development of autoimmune blistering disease. Intensity of itch is surprisingly huge problem for the patients and the obtained results are comparable with results presented by atopic patients.
Subject(s)
Dermatitis Herpetiformis/blood , Interleukins/blood , Pemphigoid, Bullous/blood , Pruritus/blood , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Autoimmune Diseases/blood , Autoimmune Diseases/genetics , Autoimmune Diseases/physiopathology , Dermatitis Herpetiformis/genetics , Dermatitis Herpetiformis/physiopathology , Female , Humans , Interleukins/genetics , Janus Kinases/genetics , Male , Middle Aged , Pemphigoid, Bullous/genetics , Pemphigoid, Bullous/physiopathology , Pruritus/genetics , Pruritus/physiopathology , STAT Transcription Factors/genetics , Signal TransductionABSTRACT
Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) and bullous pemphigoid (BP) are skin diseases associated with eosinophilic and neutrophilic infiltrations. Although cytokines are critical for the inflammatory process, there are single findings concerning concentration of IL-17 in bullous diseases. The goal of this study was to assess IL-17 expression in DH and BP patients. Skin biopsies were taken from 10 DH, 14 BP patients and from 10 healthy subjects. The localization and expression of IL-17 was studied by immunohistochemistry and the serum concentration was measured by immunoassays. Expression of IL-17 in the epidermis and in influxed cells in dermis was detected in skin biopsies. Expression of IL-17 was statistically higher in epidermis and infiltration cells in specimens from BP than from DH patients. Examined interleukin expression was detected in perilesional skin of all patients but it was much lower than in lesional skin. The expression of IL-17 was not observed in biopsies from healthy people. Serum level of IL-17 was statistically higher in BP and DH groups as compared to control group. Our results provide the evidence that IL-17 may play an essential role in activating and recruiting eosinophils and neutrophils, which ultimately contribute to the tissue damage in DH and BP.
Subject(s)
Dermatitis Herpetiformis/metabolism , Gene Expression Regulation , Interleukin-17/metabolism , Pemphigoid, Bullous/metabolism , Skin/metabolism , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Biopsy , Dermatitis Herpetiformis/blood , Eosinophils/metabolism , Gene Expression Profiling , Humans , Immunoassay , Inflammation , Interleukin-17/blood , Middle Aged , Neutrophils/metabolism , Pemphigoid, Bullous/blood , Skin/pathology , Young AdultABSTRACT
The role of the process of apoptosis is investigated in the pathogenesis of many autoimmune diseases; however at present, there is not much information about its role in dermatitis herpetiformis. Skin biopsies were taken from 18 DH patients and from 10 healthy subjects. The localization and expression of Bax, Fas, FasL, TRAIL, TRAIL-R in skin lesions, and perilesional skin were studied by immunohistochemistry. Expression of Bax, Fas, and Fas ligand was detected in the keratinocytes in skin biopsies from DH patients. Expression of TRAIL and TRAIL receptor was confirmed in epidermis, infiltration cells, and some fibroblasts. The expression of examined molecules in biopsies from healthy people was observed only in single cells. There were statistically significant differences between lesional, perilesional, and healthy skin of control group in Bax expression analysis and between lesional skin and control group in Fas, FasL, and TRAIL expression. There were statistically significant differences between control group and perilesional skin in Bax and FasL expression. Our results show that selected proapoptotic molecules may take part in pathogenesis of dermatitis herpetiformis, but the role of apoptosis in this process is not clear.
Subject(s)
Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins/metabolism , Dermatitis Herpetiformis/metabolism , Fas Ligand Protein/metabolism , bcl-2-Associated X Protein/metabolism , fas Receptor/metabolism , Adolescent , Adult , Humans , Middle Aged , Receptors, TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand/metabolism , TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand/metabolism , Young AdultSubject(s)
ADAM Proteins/metabolism , Dermatitis Herpetiformis/metabolism , Dermatitis Herpetiformis/pathology , Pemphigoid, Bullous/metabolism , Pemphigoid, Bullous/pathology , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism , Case-Control Studies , Humans , Immunoblotting , Immunohistochemistry , In Situ Hybridization , Statistics, NonparametricABSTRACT
Bullous pemphigoid (BP) and dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) are chronic subepidermal bullous diseases, which progress together with an itch and an inflammatory reaction. These symptoms may be the cause of a phenomenon described in the literature as a neurogenic skin inflammation. Neuropeptides are one of the mediators which take part in this process. The aim of our study was to indicate the expression of selected neuropeptides - CRF (corticotropin releasing factor), CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide), NKB (neurokinin B), SP (substance P) and the receptor for endothelin B (ETRB) - in the skin of patients suffering from BP or DH. A significantly increased expression of CRF was found in the specimen collected from the skin lesions of patients with BP and DH as well as a significantly increased expression of receptor for endothelin B in the patients with DH by the immunohistochemical method. The results obtained give evidence of a possible participation of CRF and receptor for endothelin B in the pathogenesis of the itch in the dermatitis herpetiformis as well as CRF in bullous pemphigoid.
