The plasma gelsolin levels in atopic dermatitis: Effect of atopy ad disease severity

BACKGROUND: Gelsolin is an actin-binding protein with several cellular functions including anti-apoptosis and is reported to have an anti-inflammatory effect. Apoptosis of keratinocytes has been implicated as a key mechanism of atopic dermatitis (AD). OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine plasma gelsolin (pGSN) levels in children with atopic dermatitis (AD). METHOD: The diagnosis of AD was made according to Hanifin and Rajka criteria. The disease severity was scored by objective SCORAD index by the same allergist. Skin prick testing (SPT), total IgE levels, and eosinophil counts were analyzed. The pGSN levels were determined using ELISA technique. RESULTS: Children aged between 0.5 and 3.0 years were included in the study. The children with AD (AD; n = 84) were analyzed in two groups according to the presence (AD+/Atopy+; n = 54) or absence of SPT positivity (AD+/Atopy−; n = 30). The comparisons were made with a healthy control group matched for age and sex (n = 81). The median (interquartile range) of pGSN levels in AD+/A+, AD+/A− and control groups were 267 μg/ml (236-368), 293 (240-498) and 547 (361-695), respectively (p < 0.001). The difference between the control group and AD sub-groups remained significant after Bonferroni correction (p < 0.001). Correlation analysis failed to reach significance with the disease severity total IgE levels and eosinophil counts. CONCLUSION: This is the first study investigating the association of pGSN levels with AD and disease severity. pGSN levels decreased in AD. These findings suggest that gelsolin may have a role in the disease process in AD patients

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Electron-microscopical localization of gelsolin in various crustacean muscles.

Gelsolin was localized by immunoelectron microscopy in fast and slow cross-striated muscles of the lobster Homarus americanus. When ultrathin sections of the muscles were labelled with anti-gelsolin and a gold-conjugated second antibody, 90% of all gold particles in the myoplasm were detected on myofibrils, preferentially in the I-band and AI-region of the sarcomeres. Both the region of the H-zone (lacking thin filaments) and the Z-disc contained no or little gold label. Under physiological conditions, a close association of gelsolin with the thin filaments was observed for both muscle types. The preferential localization of particles in the I- and AI-region indicated that gelsolin was distributed randomly over the whole length of the thin filaments. Preincubation of muscle strips with Ringer solution containing 0.5 mM EGTA resulted in a significantly different distribution pattern; gold particles were now localized preferentially in the cell periphery close to the sarcolemma, with significantly decreased abundance in the centre of the cell. Compared with the muscle under physiological conditions, the number of gold particles over sarcomeric structures was significantly reduced. Thus, binding of gelsolin to the thin filaments is apparently reversible in vivo and depends on the presence of calcium ions. We assume a functional role for gelsolin in the actin turnover processes in invertebrate muscle systems.