Skin microdialysis detects distinct immunological patterns in chronic inflammatory skin diseases

Abstract

BackgroundInsight into the pathophysiology of inflammatory skin diseases, especially at the proteomic level, is severely hampered by the lack of adequate in situ data. ObjectiveCharacterize lesional and nonlesional skin of inflammatory skin diseases using skin microdialysis. MethodsSkin microdialysis samples from patients with atopic dermatitis (AD, n=6), psoriasis vulgaris (PSO, n=7) or prurigo nodularis (PN, n=6), as well as healthy controls (n=7) were subjected to proteomics and multiplex cytokine analysis. Single-cell RNA sequencing of skin biopsy specimens was used to identify the cellular origin of cytokines. ResultsAmong the top 20 enriched GO annotations, NAD metabolic process, regulation of secretion by cell, and pyruvate metabolic process were elevated in microdialysates from lesional AD skin compared with both nonlesional skin and controls. The top 20 enriched KEGG pathways in these three groups overlapped almost completely. In contrast, nonlesional skin from patients with PSO or PN and control skin showed no overlap with lesional skin in this KEGG pathway analysis. Lesional skin from patients with PSO, but not AD or PN, showed significantly elevated protein levels of MCP-1 compared to nonlesional skin. IL-8 was elevated in lesional vs nonlesional AD and PSO skin, whereas IL-12p40 and IL-22 were higher only in lesional PSO skin. Integrated single-cell RNA-seq data revealed identical cellular sources of these cytokines in AD, PSO and PN. ConclusionBased on microdialysate, proteomic data of lesional PSO and PN skin, but not lesional AD skin, differed significantly from those of nonlesional skin. IL-8, IL-22, MCP-1 and IL-12p40 might be suitable markers for minimally invasive molecular profiling.