Skin microdialysis detects distinct immunologic patterns in chronic inflammatory skin diseases

Area of Science:

• Dermatology and Proteomics
• Inflammatory Skin Disease Pathophysiology

Background:

• Lack of in situ proteomic data hinders understanding of inflammatory skin disease pathophysiology.
• Current methods struggle to capture real-time molecular changes within skin lesions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the proteomic and cytokine profiles of lesional and nonlesional skin in inflammatory skin diseases.
• To identify potential molecular markers for minimally invasive profiling of skin conditions.

Main Methods:

• Skin microdialysis was employed to collect samples from patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), psoriasis vulgaris (PSO), prurigo nodularis (PN), and healthy controls.
• Proteomic analysis, multiplex cytokine assays, and single-cell RNA sequencing were performed on collected samples.

Main Results:

• Lesional AD skin showed elevated nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and pyruvate metabolic processes.
• Lesional PSO skin exhibited significantly higher levels of MCP-1, IL-8, IL-12p40, and IL-22 compared to nonlesional skin.
• IL-8 was also elevated in lesional AD and PSO skin, while proteomic profiles of lesional PSO and PN skin differed significantly from nonlesional skin.

Conclusions:

• Proteomic profiles of lesional psoriasis (PSO) and prurigo nodularis (PN) skin significantly differ from nonlesional skin.
• Interleukin-8 (IL-8), IL-22, MCP-1, and IL-12p40 show potential as minimally invasive biomarkers for inflammatory skin diseases.