8 research outputs found
Primary alterations during the development of hidradenitis suppurativa
BACKGROUND: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the apocrine glandârich (AGR) skin region. The initial steps of disease development are not fully understood, despite intense investigations into immune alterations in lesional HS skin. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to systematically investigate the inflammatory molecules involved in three stages of HS pathogenesis, including healthy AGR, nonâlesional HS and lesional HS skin, with the parallel application of multiple mRNA and proteinâbased methods. METHODS: Immune cell counts (T cells, dendritic cells, macrophages), Th1/Th17ârelated molecules (ILâ12B, TBX21, IFNG, TNFA, ILâ17, IL10, ILâ23A, TGFB1, RORC, CCL20), keratinocyteârelated sensors (TLR2,4), mediators (S100A7, S100A8, S100A9, DEFB4B, LCN2, CAMP, CCL2) and proâinflammatory molecules (IL1B, IL6, TNFA, ILâ23A) were investigated in the three groups by RNASeq, RTâqPCR, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. RESULTS: Epidermal changes were already detectable in nonâlesional HS skin; the epidermal occurrence of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), ILâ1ÎČ, TNFâα and ILâ23 was highly upregulated compared with healthy AGR skin. In lesional HS epidermis, TNFâα and ILâ1ÎČ expression remained at high levels while AMPs and ILâ23 increased even more compared with nonâlesional skin. In the dermis of nonâlesional HS skin, signs of inflammation were barely detectable (vs. AGR), while in the lesional dermis, the number of inflammatory cells and Th1/Th17ârelated mediators were significantly elevated. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings that nonâlesional HS epidermal keratinocytes produce not only AMPs and ILâ1ÎČ but also high levels of TNFâα and ILâ23 confirm the driver role of keratinocytes in HS pathogenesis and highlight the possible role of keratinocytes in the transformation of nonâinflammatory Th17 cells (of healthy AGR skin) into inflammatory cells (of HS) via the production of these mediators. The fact that epidermal TNFâα and ILâ23 appear also in nonâlesional HS seems to prove these cytokines as excellent therapeutic targets
A Multi-Omics Approach Reveals Features That Permit Robust and Widespread Regulation of IFN-Inducible Antiviral Effectors.
The antiviral state, an initial line of defense against viral infection, is established by a set of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) encoding antiviral effector proteins. The effector ISGs are transcriptionally regulated by type I IFNs mainly via activation of IFN-stimulated gene factor 3 (ISGF3). In this study, the regulatory elements of effector ISGs were characterized to determine the (epi)genetic features that enable their robust induction by type I IFNs in multiple cell types. We determined the location of regulatory elements, the DNA motifs, the occupancy of ISGF3 subunits (IRF9, STAT1, and STAT2) and other transcription factors, and the chromatin accessibility of 37 effector ISGs in murine dendritic cells. The IFN-stimulated response element (ISRE) and its tripartite version occurred most frequently in the regulatory elements of effector ISGs than in any other tested ISG subsets. Chromatin accessibility at their promoter regions was similar to most other ISGs but higher than at the promoters of inflammation-related cytokines, which were used as a reference gene set. Most effector ISGs (81.1%) had at least one ISGF3 binding region proximal to the transcription start site (TSS), and only a subset of effector ISGs (24.3%) was associated with three or more ISGF3 binding regions. The IRF9 signals were typically higher, and ISRE motifs were "stronger" (more similar to the canonical sequence) in TSS-proximal versus TSS-distal regulatory regions. Moreover, most TSS-proximal regulatory regions were accessible before stimulation in multiple cell types. Our results indicate that "strong" ISRE motifs and universally accessible promoter regions that permit robust, widespread induction are characteristic features of effector ISGs
Transcriptome profiling of kisspeptin neurons from the mouse arcuate nucleus reveals new mechanisms in estrogenic control of fertility.
Kisspeptin neurons in the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) are critical targets of ovarian estrogen feedback regulating mammalian fertility. To reveal molecular mechanisms underlying this signaling, we thoroughly characterized the estrogen-regulated transcriptome of kisspeptin cells from ovariectomized transgenic mice substituted with 17ÎČ-estradiol or vehicle. MBH kisspeptin neurons were harvested using laser-capture microdissection, pooled, and subjected to RNA sequencing. Estrogen treatment significantly (p.adj. < 0.05) up-regulated 1,190 and down-regulated 1,139 transcripts, including transcription factors, neuropeptides, ribosomal and mitochondrial proteins, ion channels, transporters, receptors, and regulatory RNAs. Reduced expression of the excitatory serotonin receptor-4 transcript (Htr4) diminished kisspeptin neuron responsiveness to serotonergic stimulation. Many estrogen-regulated transcripts have been implicated in puberty/fertility disorders. Patients (n = 337) with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) showed enrichment of rare variants in putative CHH-candidate genes (e.g., LRP1B, CACNA1G, FNDC3A). Comprehensive characterization of the estrogen-dependent kisspeptin neuron transcriptome sheds light on the molecular mechanisms of ovary-brain communication and informs genetic research on human fertility disorders