Epidermal filaggrin deficiency mediates increased systemic T-helper 17 immune response.

BACKGROUND: Cellular T-helper (Th)17 infiltrates dominate skin inflammation in filaggrin-deficient flaky tail (ft/ft) mice, and Th17 cells are found in both the skin and blood of patients with acute atopic dermatitis. However, the potential role of loss-of-function mutations in the filaggrin gene (FLG) for increased peripheral Th17 cells is unclear. OBJECTIVES: To study whether mutations in FLG influence the frequency of peripheral Th17 cells. METHODS: We studied blood samples from six adults with mutations in FLG and five controls without mutations for frequencies of cytokine-producing CD4(+) T cells. We evaluated ft/ft mice and wild-type (WT) control mice for interleukin (IL)-17-producing CD4(+) T cells in naive mice and following 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) challenge. In addition, the T-cell receptor (TCR) Vß-chain repertoire was analysed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Human studies showed increased frequency of peripheral Th17 cells in FLG mutation carriers when compared with WT individuals. Mouse studies showed increased frequency of peripheral Th17 cells in adult ft/ft mice but not in 2-week-old ft/ft mice. Moreover, altered TCR Vß-chain repertoire was found in ft/ft mice when compared with WT mice. An increased frequency of CD4(+) Vß10(+) T cells producing IL-17 was found in the spleen of adult ft/ft mice when compared with WT mice. Finally, DNFB challenge induced an increased number of Th17 cells in ft/ft mice compared with WT mice. CONCLUSIONS: Deficiency of filaggrin appeared to be a driver of increased peripheral levels of Th17 cells. This increase must be acquired as peripheral Th17 cells were found in adult ft/ft mice but not in 2-week-old ft/ft mice indicating involvement of exogenous factors.

The Vitamin D Analogue Calcipotriol Reduces the Frequency of CD8+ IL-17+ T Cells in Psoriasis Lesions.

The vitamin D analogue calcipotriol is an immunomodulatory drug widely used to treat psoriasis; however, how calcipotriol affects the immune cells in psoriasis lesions is not fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of calcipotriol on the frequency of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells and innate lymphoid cells (ILC) and their production of IL-17A, IFN-γ and IL-22 in psoriasis lesions in patients with chronic plaque psoriasis. Eighteen patients with psoriasis were included, and two similar psoriasis lesions were chosen for each patient. One lesion was treated with calcipotriol (50 µg/g) and the other with vehicle twice a day for 14 days. The clinical effect was measured by degree of erythema, scaling and induration in each lesion (SUM score). Skin biopsies were collected for histological and immunohistochemical analyses. Skin-derived cells were isolated and analysed by flow cytometry. After 14 days of treatment with calcipotriol, a significant clinical and histological effect was seen; however, we found no differences in the frequency of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells or ILC between calcipotriol- and vehicle-treated skin. The main finding was a significant decrease in CD8(+) IL-17(+) T cells in skin-derived cells from calcipotriol-treated skin, which was further supported by the absence of CD8(+) IL-17(+) T cells in immunohistochemical staining of calcipotriol-treated skin. No changes in the frequency of IL-22(+) or IFN-γ(+) cells were observed. Our findings show that the vitamin D analogue calcipotriol reduces the frequency of CD8(+) IL-17(+) T cells in psoriasis lesions concomitant with clinical improvement.

Immune responses to hair dyes containing toluene-2,5-diamine.

BACKGROUND: Toluene-2,5-diamine (PTD) is the most frequently used dye in oxidative hair dyes on the Scandinavian market. However, little is known about immune responses to PTD-containing oxidative hair dyes. OBJECTIVES: To study immune responses induced by PTD-containing hair dyes in mice. METHODS: Immune responses against two different permanent hair dye products containing 1·60% (w/w) and 0·48% (w/w) PTD within the colour gel, and various concentrations of pure PTD were studied. The local inflammatory response was measured by ear swelling and cell infiltration, and T- and B-cell infiltration and proliferation was determined in the draining lymph nodes. RESULTS: Concentration-dependent immune responses were seen to PTD both in the skin and draining lymph nodes. The hair dye containing 1·60% PTD induced strong local inflammation and caused T- and B-cell infiltration and proliferation as well as an increased number of regulatory T cells in the draining lymph nodes. In contrast, the hair dye containing 0·48% PTD induced skin inflammation but only minor responses in the draining lymph nodes. CONCLUSIONS: Consumer-available PTD-containing permanent hair dyes can be potent immune activators inducing both pro- and anti-inflammatory responses. The outcome of the response is dependent on allergen dose, amount of additional allergens and exposure regime.

Increased number and frequency of group 3 innate lymphoid cells in nonlesional psoriatic skin.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a common immune-mediated inflammatory disease that affects the skin and joints. The interleukin (IL)-23/IL-17A axis and IL-22 play key roles in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. IL-23-responsive innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) with a high capacity to produce IL-17 and/or IL-22 have recently been identified and associated with inflammatory bowel diseases. The occurrence and role of ILCs in human skin are poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: To describe the prevalence of the different ILC subpopulations in skin from healthy controls and patients with psoriasis or allergy to nickel. METHODS: Skin biopsies were taken from healthy skin, nonlesional and lesional psoriatic skin, and nickel- and petrolatum-exposed skin from patients with contact allergy to nickel, and lymphocytes were isolated. The cells were stained and characterized by flow cytometry. Cytokine and ligand mRNA expression were measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: We found that members of the three groups of ILCs were present in human skin. Remarkably, the number and frequency of RORγt(+) CD56(+) ILC3s, which are known to produce IL-22, were elevated in both nonlesional and lesional skin from patients with psoriasis compared with healthy skin and skin from patients with contact allergy to nickel. Furthermore, skin ILCs expressed high levels of the natural killer receptor NKG2D. NKG2D binds to stress-induced ligands, including major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A, which we found to be strongly upregulated in lesional skin from patients with psoriasis. CONCLUSION: These results show that ILCs are present in human skin and indicate that RORγt(+) CD56(+) ILC3 may be involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis.

Consumer available permanent hair dye products cause major allergic immune activation in an animal model.

Background p-Phenylenediamine (PPD) and related substances are ingredients of more than two-thirds of oxidative (permanent) hair dyes currently used. Although PPD is a potent skin sensitizer in predictive assays, the extent to which permanent hair dyes sensitize humans has been questioned due to the in-use conditions, e.g. the presence of couplers in the hair dye gel and rapid oxidation using a developer. Objectives To study the skin sensitizing potential of permanent hair dyes in mice. Methods Two different permanent hair dye products containing PPD were studied in CBA mice using a modified version of the local lymph node assay. The colour gel and developer (oxidant) were tested separately and in combination. Response was measured by ear swelling and cytokine production in ear tissue and serum by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The immune cellular response in the draining lymph nodes was analysed by flow cytometry. Results Application of the colour gel both alone and mixed with the developer induced skin production of interleukin (IL)-1beta, tumour necrosis factor-alpha and IL-6 as well as systemic IL-6 release. Both treatments induced B- and T-cell infiltration as well as T-cell proliferation within the draining lymph nodes. Treatment with the mixture induced at least 20% more skin inflammation, cytokine production and CD4+ T-cell activation compared with the colour gel alone. Conclusions Consumer available PPD-containing permanent hair dyes can be potent and rapid immune activators. Mixing the colour gel and developer (oxidant) increased the induction of skin inflammation compared with application of the colour gel alone.

Repeated exposure to hair dye induces regulatory T cells in mice.

BACKGROUND: We have recently shown that commercial p-phenylenediamine (PPD)-containing hair dyes are potent immune activators that lead to severe contact hypersensitivity in an animal model. However, only a minority of people exposed to permanent hair dyes develops symptomatic contact hypersensitivity. This suggests that the majority of people exposed to hair dyes does not become sensitized or develop immunological tolerance. OBJECTIVES: To study the immune response in mice repeatedly exposed to PPD-containing hair dye in a consumer-like manner. METHODS: A commercial hair dye containing PPD was tested in C57BL/6 mice. The local immune response was measured by ear swelling and by histological examinations. The immune response in the draining lymph nodes was analysed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The hair dye induced local inflammation as seen by swelling and cell infiltration of the treated ears. In addition, exposure to hair dye caused T-cell activation as seen by T-cell proliferation and production of interferon-γ and interleukin (IL)-17 within the draining lymph nodes. The inflammatory response peaked at the fourth exposure to hair dye. From this point on, an upregulation of regulatory T cells and IL-10-producing cells was seen. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that PPD-containing hair dyes strongly affect the immune system. In addition to being potent skin sensitizers that activate inflammatory T cells, hair dyes also induce anti-inflammatory mechanisms. This might explain why many consumers can use hair dyes repeatedly without developing noticeable allergies, but it also raises the question whether the immune modulatory effects of hair dyes might influence the development of autoimmune diseases and cancers.

Proteasomal targeting and minigene repetition improve cell-surface presentation of a transfected, modified melanoma tumour antigen.

Melanoma antigen recognized by T cell 1 (MART-1) is regarded as a candidate peptide for vaccination against malignant melanoma, and it is of importance to develop strategies to improve the vaccine-elicited T-cell activation towards MART-1. T-cell activation is, among other determinants, dependent on the density of specific major histocompatibility complex-peptide complexes on the surface of the antigen-presenting cell. In this study, we explored the cell-surface presentation of a substituted MART-1 peptide encoded by transfected minigenes. We investigated the potential of proteasomal targeting compared to non-proteasomal targeting of the epitope to increase its cell-surface presentation. Furthermore, we explored the potential of incorporating multiple minigenes instead of one to increase cell-surface presentation. We show that both proteasomal targeting and repetition of the minigene increase cell-surface presentation of the epitope and propose both these approaches as potential strategies in DNA vaccines to increase MART-1-specific T-cell activation.