Illustrations
Figure 1
The distribution and expression of keratin (KRT) 1, KRT10, desmoglein (DSG) 1, desmocollin (DSC) 1, DSG3, and DSC3 in atopic dermatitis (AD) lesional skin. A ) Immunofluorescence staining for KRT1, KRT10, DSG1, DSC1, DSG3, and DSC3 in lesional skin of AD and non-lesional skin of healthy controls (HCs). The expression of KRT1 and KRT10, DSG1 and DSC1, and DSG3 and DSC3 was greatest in the stratum spinosum, stratum granulosum, and stratum basale, respectively. The dotted lines indicate the layers of highest expression. B ) Quantification of immunofluorescence. The expression of KRT1, KRT10, DSG1, and DSC1 was downregulated in AD lesional skin compared with that of HCs, with decreased relative fluorescence intensities (RFIs) of 0.74 ± 0.10, 0.58 ± 0.13, 0.75 ± 0.19, 0.77 ± 0.18 (mean ± SD), respectively. The expression of DSG3 was upregulated in AD lesional skin. The RFI of DSG3 was 1.86 ± 0.92. The expression of DSC3 was not significantly different between AD lesional skin and that of HCs. Each dot represents one experiment. Thick horizontal lines represent the mean and thin lines the standard deviation. *p <0.05; **p <0.01; n.s.: not significant (Mann-Whitney U test). C ) Western blot analysis of KRT1, KRT10, DSG1, DSC1 and actin. Epidermal proteins for western blotting were extracted from AD lesional skin and skin from HCs. The protein expression of KRT1, KRT10, DSG1, and DSC1 was significantly downregulated in AD lesional skin compared with that of HCs.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Serum interleukin (IL)-4 levels in atopic dermatitis (AD) patients and healthy controls (HCs). Blood samples were collected from nine AD patients and nine HCs. The serum IL-4 levels were significantly higher in AD patients (36.2 ± 4.7 pg/mL) than in HCs (22.8 ± 6.2 pg/mL). Each dot represents one experiment. Thick horizontal lines represent the mean and thin lines the standard deviation. **p <0.01 (Mann-Whitney U test).
Figure 2
Figure 3
The effect of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 on the expression of keratin (KRT) 1, KRT10, desmoglein (DSG) 1, and desmocollin (DSC) 1 in normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs). NHEKs at confluence were differentiated in the presence of 1.8 mM CaCl2 for five days. Recombinant IL-4 or IL-13 was added, as indicated, for the last two days. A ) Cells were lysed in Radio-Immunoprecipitation Assay buffer for western blotting. Blots were probed with antibodies specific to KRT1, KRT10, DSG1, DSC1, and the loading control, actin, as indicated. The images represent one of three independent experiments. B ) The relative levels of KRT1, KRT10, DSG1, and DSC1, normalized to actin, are shown. Each dot represents one experiment. Thick horizontal lines represent the mean and thin lines the standard deviation. *p<0.05; n.s.: not significant (Mann-Whitney U test).
Figure 3
Tableaux
Auteurs
1 Department of Dermatology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
2 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
Background In the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD), skin barrier dysfunction and T-helper (Th) type 2 immune reactions play important roles. Alterations in the stratum spinosum of AD have not been studied in much detail.