Abstract
Background and objectives: Pytiriasis alba (PA) is a common skin disorder which affects 80% of children between six and 16 years. The etiology of PA is unclear, but hypo-pigmented patches in photo-exposed zones characterize the disease. Because the high ultraviolet exposition of the skin promotes an acute inflammatory response and an increase of oxidative stress (OS), this study aimed to evaluate the expression levels of inflammatory and OS-related genes in skin biopsies, and their association with PA. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out. Skin biopsies of the lesion sites and healthy skin (controls) from 16 children with PA were evaluated. The tissue expression of IL-4, IL-6, IL-17A, TNFα, INFγ, IL-1β, SOD1, and HMOX1 was analyzed by qRT-PCR, using SYBR Green and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene as the endogenous control. Results: There were differences in the ΔCq values of HMOX1, SOD1, IL-6, and IFNγ between tissue with lesions and healthy skin (p < 0.05). Compared with healthy skin, IL-6, IFNγ, HMOX1, and SOD1 were predominantly under-expressed in the lesion sites. However, 25% of skin biopsies with lesions showed over-expression of these four genes. Positive correlations between the expression of IL-6 and HMOX1, SOD1, and IFNγ (p < 0.05) were also observed. Conclusions: Our results suggest the presence of molecular stages of PA, defined according to the over-expression (first stage) or under-expression (second stage) of the HMOX1, SOD1, IL-6, and IFNγ genes in abnormal skin tissue. These findings may have implications for the selection of treatment for PA-related lesions.
Highlights
Pityriasis alba (PA) is a self-limited benign skin disease that occurs most frequently in childhood [1].Pytiriasis alba (PA) commonly occurs in patients between 6 and 16 years of age, and affects 80% of children living in rural areas of developing countries [2,3]
PA is characterized by hypochromic scaly macules that appear more frequently in areas of skin exposed to sunlight [5]
In the intermediate stage the lesions increase in size up to 5 cm, and there is desquamatory hypopigmentation with tiny pointy papules compared to the previous stage
Summary
Pityriasis alba (PA) is a self-limited benign skin disease that occurs most frequently in childhood [1].PA commonly occurs in patients between 6 and 16 years of age, and affects 80% of children living in rural areas of developing countries [2,3]. PA is characterized by hypochromic scaly macules that appear more frequently in areas of skin exposed to sunlight [5]. The early-stage characterized by well-delimited macules less than 2 cm in diameter, with erythema and follicular papules with points. In the late stage, there are patches of 2–5 cm in diameter, hypopigmented, with irregular edges, with fine desquamation and without follicular papules [6]. Because the high ultraviolet exposition of the skin promotes an acute inflammatory response and an increase of oxidative stress (OS), this study aimed to evaluate the expression levels of inflammatory and OS-related genes in skin biopsies, and their association with PA. Skin biopsies of the lesion sites and healthy skin (controls) from 16 children with PA were evaluated. The tissue expression of IL-4, IL-6, IL-17A, TNFα, INFγ, IL-1β, SOD1, and HMOX1 was analyzed by qRT-PCR, using SYBR Green and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene as the endogenous control
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