Expression of the Selected Proteins of JAK/STAT Signaling Pathway in Diseases with Oral Mucosa Involvement.

The JAK/STAT signal pathway is a system of intracellular proteins used by many cytokines and growth factors to express genes responsible for the process of cell activation, proliferation and differentiation. There has been numerous inflammatory and autoimmune diseases identified where the JAK/STAT signaling is disrupted; however, there are only a few papers concerning autoimmune bullous diseases published. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of proteins: JAK3, STAT2, STAT4 and STAT6 in epithelium lesions in patients with pemphigus vulgaris (PV), bullous pemphigoid (BP), oral lichen planus (LP) and chronic ulcerative stomatitis (CUS), as well as in the control group. Immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting were used to evaluate expression of selected proteins. We found significantly higher expression of selected JAK/STAT proteins in oral mucosa lesions in study groups in comparison to the control group, which indicates participation of JAK/STAT pathway in pathogenesis of these diseases. In BP and PV there were no increased STAT2 expression, whereas in CUS and LP no increased STAT4 expression occurred. The differences in expression of JAK/STAT proteins in selected disorders have been observed. These results create new potential therapeutic targets for the treatment.

Correlation between IL36α and IL17 and Activity of the Disease in Selected Autoimmune Blistering Diseases.

Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), bullous pemphigoid (BP), and pemphigus vulgaris (PV) are autoimmune bullous skin conditions with eosinophilic and neutrophilic infiltrations. While cytokines are crucial for the affinity and activation of different leukocyte cells in the inflammation and blister formation, there are no studies concerning a role of IL-36. The goal of the study was to analyze whether interleukin 36 is involved in pathogenesis of DH, BP, and PV. And the second aim of the study was the estimation of correlation between Il-36 and IL-17 and titers of specific antibodies in these diseases. Expression of IL-36 and IL-17 was detected in serum in all DH, BP, and PV samples. Serum levels of IL-36 and IL-17α were statistically higher in DH, BP, and PV groups as compared to the control group. IL-36α levels were statistically higher in DH patients, as compared to patients with PV and BP. Our results showed that IL-36 may be helpful in the diagnostic and monitoring of the activity of the disease. IL 36 may play a relevant role of enrolling eosinophils and neutrophils in DH, BP, and PV and finally provoke tissue injury.