RESUMEN
Allergic contact dermatitis is preceded by a clinically silent phase of sensitisation. In this study, we investigated whether the expression levels of six genes were related to nickel exposure and/or nickel sensitisation, and whether they could predict allergic manifestations to nickel. The mRNA expression level of six genes involved in cell growth (PIM1 and ETS2), metabolism/synthesis (HSD11B1 and PRDX4), apoptosis (CASP8) and signal transduction (CISH) was investigated by means of quantitative real-time RT-PCR in a cohort of 110 subjects, including healthy controls (n=51), nickel-exposed workers (n=23) and patients allergic to nickel (n=36). Our findings show that the expression levels of the analysed genes did not differ between allergic patients and healthy controls, while higher expression levels of ETS2 and CASP8 were detected in the nickel-exposed workers. Changes in ETS2 and CASP8 expression are likely to be related to nickel exposure rather than to allergy.
Asunto(s)
Dermatitis Alérgica por Contacto/metabolismo , Perfilación de la Expresión Génica , Leucocitos Mononucleares/metabolismo , Níquel/efectos adversos , Exposición Profesional/efectos adversos , 11-beta-Hidroxiesteroide Deshidrogenasa de Tipo 1/metabolismo , Adulto , Anciano , Biomarcadores/metabolismo , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Caspasa 8/metabolismo , Dermatitis Alérgica por Contacto/patología , Femenino , Humanos , Leucocitos Mononucleares/patología , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Peroxirredoxinas/metabolismo , Proteína Proto-Oncogénica c-ets-2/metabolismo , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas c-pim-1/metabolismo , Proteínas Supresoras de la Señalización de Citocinas/metabolismoRESUMEN
The use of fumaric acid esters in the treatment of psoriasis was first proposed in 1959. In the 1980s, more standardized oral preparations of fumaric acid esters were developed, containing dimethylfumarate and monoethylfumarate as the main compounds. In 1994, the drug was approved for the treatment of psoriasis in Germany, and since then it has become the most commonly used systemic therapy in this country. In the last few years, an oral integrator containing dimethylfumarate and monoethylfumarate (Psocaps, Dermatika s.r.l., Padua) has also been available in Italy for the treatment of psoriasis. In this paper we report on the history of treatment using fumaric acid esters and we describe our own experience during and following the treatment with such drugs in 41 patients affected by mild vulgar psoriasis. In our trial, an improvement in cutaneous psoriasis was observed in 46% of treated patients, while side effects were noticed in 52% of patients; only three patients dropped out due to gastrointestinal problems. Our results are comparable to literature data in terms of efficacy, safety and side effects.