C-fos and c-jun proto-oncogene expression is decreased in psoriasis: an in situ quantitative analysis

Psoriasis is a common, sometimes severe, non-malignant skin disease characterized by hyperproliferation and abnormal differentiation of keratinocytes. Because proto-oncogenes are implicated in both cell proliferation and differentiation, their expression could be modified in skin diseases such as psoriasis. The c-fos and c-jun proto-oncogenes, whose products associate to form a heterodimeric transcription factor, are among the first genes to be expressed when certain cells are stimulated to either proliferate or differentiate. Recent studies in our laboratory have shown that the c-fos proto-oncogene is highly expressed in normal human adult skin. In the present study, we used in situ hybridization with RNA to compare the expression and localization of c-fos and c-jun transcripts in 15 lesional and non-lesional psoriatic skin samples. Two clinical variants of psoriasis were studied: the most severe and chronic form or plaque-type psoriasis (N = 10) and rapidly resolutive guttate-type psoriasis (N = 5). Quantitative analysis was performed using a semi-automatic image analyzer and the "Starwise grain" software program. Our control samples included 10 normal skins and eight specimens from other benign hyperproliferative non-psoriatic skin diseases, consisting of three with inflammation (seborrheic dermatitis and atopic dermatitis), and 5 without inflammation (seborrheic keratoses). Control genes we used for in situ hybridization and RNA integrity were keratin 14, which is expressed in the epidermis and was normally expressed in all tissue analyzed, and ribosomal RNA. Our data showed that c-fos and c-jun were expressed to an equivalent extent, both spatially and quantitatively, in all specimens tested. Expression was significantly decreased in plaque-type but not in guttate-type psoriasis. It was also decreased in the three other benign inflammatory cutaneous hyperproliferative disorders, but not in the five non-inflammatory cases. These results were surprising because hyperproliferation was here associated with a decrease in proto-oncogene expression, thus suggesting that c-fos and c-jun do not play a crucial role in the control of keratinocyte proliferation in vivo. However, their reduced expression in some abnormally differentiated skins indicates that both c-fos and c-jun proto-oncogenes may play a key role in keratinocyte differentiation. Their altered expression correlated with severity of the disease and the presence of an inflammatory infiltrate. These data offer a new insight into the role and regulation of these proto-oncogenes in vivo in humans.