Oral difelikefalin reduces moderate to severe pruritus and expression of pruritic and inflammatory biomarkers in subjects with atopic dermatitis.

BACKGROUND: Pruritus is the most common and burdensome symptom of atopic dermatitis (AD). Pruritus-targeted treatments in AD are lacking, particularly for patients with milder skin disease. OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the impact of the selective κ-opioid receptor agonist difelikefalin (DFK) on pruritus intensity and pruritus- and immune-related biomarkers in subjects with moderate to severe AD-related pruritus. METHODS: A phase 2 clinical trial investigated the efficacy and safety of oral DFK 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 mg in subjects with moderate to severe AD-related pruritus. A biomarker substudy evaluated the effects of DFK on the expression of pruritus, TH2-associated genes, and skin barrier-related genes. RESULTS: In the clinical trial (N = 401), all DFK doses reduced itch versus placebo; however, the results were not statistically significant at week 12. In a subgroup of subjects in the trial with mild to moderate skin inflammation and moderate to severe itch (itch-dominant AD phenotype), DFK reduced itch at week 12 versus placebo. In the biomarker substudy, DFK downregulated the expression of key pruritus-related genes (eg, IL-31 and TRPV1) and the AD phenotype (eg, CCL17). Gene set variation analysis confirmed that DFK, but not placebo, downregulated pruritus-related genes and TH2 pathways. DFK improved skin barrier integrity markers and upregulated the expression of claudins and lipid metabolism-associated genes (eg, SEC14L6, ELOVL3, CYP1A2, and AKR1D1). CONCLUSIONS: DFK treatment reduced itch in subjects with moderate to severe AD-related pruritus, particularly those with an "itch-dominant" AD phenotype, and had an impact on the expression of pruritus, TH2-associated genes, and skin barrier-related genes. DFK is a promising therapy for AD-related pruritus; further clinical studies are warranted.

Age of onset defines two distinct profiles of atopic dermatitis in adults.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of adult-onset atopic dermatitis (AOAD) is increasing. However, the unique characteristics of AOAD compared to pediatric-onset AD persisting into adulthood (POAD) are underexplored, hampering the development of targeted-therapeutics for this growing population. We thus assessed the profile of AOAD in skin and blood compared to that of POAD. METHODS: We collected skin biopsies and blood from adults with AOAD, POAD, and healthy controls (n = 15 in each group). Skin samples were analyzed by RNA sequencing, qRT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry, and Olink Proseek multiplex assay was used to identify the serum proteomic profile. RESULTS: Compared to healthy controls, both AOAD and POAD showed cutaneous immune and barrier dysregulations with a shared Th2/Th22 hyperactivation. Overall, POAD showed greater inflammation in lesional skin, with more prominent expression of Th2/Th17/Th22 markers (CCL17/22, S100A8/9, IL-36A, PI3/Elafin, DEFB4) in POAD compared to AOAD (p-value < .05). In contrast, higher Th1-(IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-15, CCL5) upregulation and Th1-skewing were seen in AOAD. The epidermal barrier was also more compromised in POAD, with greater epidermal hyperplasia and lower expression of markers related to terminal differentiation, lipids, and cell adhesion. In parallel with increased rates of cardiovascular comorbidities, AOAD demonstrated many more significantly dysregulated proteins in serum (n = 148) compared to POAD (n = 86), including pro-inflammatory and cardiovascular-risk markers. Th1-related products showed significant correlations between their skin and blood expressions only in AOAD subjects. CONCLUSION: Age-of-onset delineates two distinct endophenotypes in adult AD potentially suggesting the need for broader (beyond Th2) therapeutic targeting in AOAD.

Distinct skin microbiome community structures in congenital ichthyosis.

BACKGROUND: The ichthyoses are rare genetic keratinizing disorders that share the characteristics of an impaired epidermal barrier and increased risk of microbial infections. Although ichthyotic diseases share a T helper (Th) 17 cell immune signature, including increased expression of antimicrobial peptides, the skin microbiota of ichthyoses is virtually unexplored. OBJECTIVES: To analyse the metagenome profile of skin microbiome for major congenital ichthyosis subtypes. METHODS: Body site-matched skin surface samples were collected from the scalp, upper arm and upper buttocks of 16 healthy control participants and 22 adult patients with congenital forms of ichthyosis for whole metagenomics sequencing analysis. RESULTS: Taxonomic profiling showed significant shifts in bacteria and fungi abundance and sporadic viral increases across ichthyosis subtypes. Cutibacterium acnes and Malassezia were significantly reduced across body sites, consistent with skin barrier disruption and depletion of lipids. Microbial richness was reduced, with specific increases in Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium genera, as well as shifts in fungal species, including Malassezia. Malassezia globosa was reduced at all body sites, whereas M. sympodialis was reduced in the ichthyotic upper arm and upper buttocks. Malassezia slooffiae, by contrast, was strikingly increased at all body sites in participants with congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma (CIE) and lamellar ichthyosis (LI). A previously undescribed Trichophyton species was also detected as sporadically colonizing the skin of patients with CIE, LI and epidermolytic ichthyosis subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: The ichthyosis skin microbiome is significantly altered from healthy skin with specific changes predominating among ichthyosis subtypes. Skewing towards the Th17 pathway may represent a response to the altered microbial colonization in ichthyosis. What is already known about this topic? The skin microbiome of congenital ichthyoses is largely unexplored. Microbes play an important role in pathogenesis, as infections are common. The relative abundances of staphylococci and corynebacteria is increased in the cutaneous microbiome of patients with Netherton syndrome, but extension of these abundances to all congenital ichthyoses is unexplored. What does this study add? A common skin microbiome signature was observed across congenital ichthyoses. Distinct microbiome features were associated with ichthyosis subtypes. Changes in microbiome may contribute to T helper 17 cell immune polarization. What is the translational message? These data provide the basis for comparison of the microbiome with lipidomic and transcriptomic alterations in these forms of ichthyosis and consideration of correcting the dysbiosis as a therapeutic intervention.

Scalp and serum profiling of frontal fibrosing alopecia reveals scalp immune and fibrosis dysregulation with no systemic involvement.

BACKGROUND: Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) is a progressive, scarring alopecia of the frontotemporal scalp that poses a substantial burden on quality of life. Large-scale global profiling of FFA is lacking, preventing the development of effective therapeutics. OBJECTIVE: To characterize FFA compared to normal and alopecia areata using broad molecular profiling and to identify biomarkers linked to disease severity. METHODS: This cross-sectional study assessed 33,118 genes in scalp using RNA sequencing and 350 proteins in serum using OLINK high-throughput proteomics. Disease biomarkers were also correlated with clinical severity and a fibrosis gene set. RESULTS: Genes differentially expressed in lesional FFA included markers related to Th1 (IFNγ/CXCL9/CXCL10), T-cell activation (CD2/CD3/CCL19/ICOS), fibrosis (CXCR3/FGF14/FGF22/VIM/FN1), T-regulatory (FOXP3/TGFB1/TGFB3), and Janus kinase/JAK (JAK3/STAT1/STAT4) (Fold changes [FCH]>1.5, FDR<.05 for all). Only one protein, ADM, was differentially expressed in FFA serum compared to normal (FCH>1.3, FDR<.05). Significant correlations were found between scalp biomarkers (IL-36RN/IL-25) and FFA severity, as well as between JAK/STAT and fibrosis gene-sets (r>.6; P <.05). LIMITATIONS: This study was limited by a small sample size and predominantly female FFA patients. CONCLUSION: Our data characterize FFA as an inflammatory condition limited to scalp, involving Th1/JAK skewing, with associated fibrosis and elevated T-regulatory markers, suggesting the potential for disease reversibility with JAK/STAT inhibition.

Effect of 90Sr internal emitter on gene expression in mouse blood.

BACKGROUND: The radioactive isotope Strontium-90 ((90)Sr) may be released as a component of fallout from nuclear accidents, or in the event of a radiological incident such as detonation of an improvised nuclear device, and if ingested poses a significant health risk to exposed individuals. In order to better understand the response to (90)Sr, using an easily attainable and standard biodosimetry sample fluid, we analyzed the global transcriptomic response of blood cells in an in vivo model system. RESULTS: We injected C57BL/6 mice with a solution of 90SrCl2 and followed them over a 30-day period. At days 4, 7, 9, 25 and 30, we collected blood and isolated RNA for microarray analyses. These days corresponded to target doses in a range from 1-5 Gy. We investigated changes in mRNA levels using microarrays, and changes in specific microRNA (miRNA) predicted to be involved in the response using qRT-PCR. We identified 8082 differentially expressed genes in the blood of mice exposed to (90)Sr compared with controls. Common biological functions were affected throughout the study, including apoptosis of B and T lymphocytes, and atrophy of lymphoid organs. Cellular functions such as RNA degradation and lipid metabolism were also affected during the study. The broad down regulation of genes observed in our study suggested a potential role for miRNA in gene regulation. We tested candidate miRNAs, mmu-miR-16, mmu-miR-124, mmu-miR-125 and mmu-mir-21; and found that all were induced at the earliest time point, day 4. CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first to report the transcriptomic response of blood cells to the internal emitter (90)Sr in mouse and a possible role for microRNA in gene regulation after (90)Sr exposure. The most dramatic effect was observed on gene expression related to B-cell development and RNA maintenance. These functions were affected by genes that were down regulated throughout the study, suggesting severely compromised antigen response, which may be a result of the deposition of the radioisotope proximal to the hematopoietic compartment in bone.

Transcriptomic Profiling of Tape-Strips From Moderate to Severe Atopic Dermatitis Patients Treated With Dupilumab.

BACKGROUND: Tape-strips are a minimally invasive approach to characterize skin biomarkers in atopic dermatitis (AD). However, they have not yet been used for tracking gene expression changes with systemic treatment. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate gene expression changes and therapeutic response biomarkers in AD patients before and after dupilumab (interleukin 4Rα antibody) treatment using tape-strips to obtain epidermal tissue for analysis. METHODS: Lesional and nonlesional tape-stripped skin was sampled from 18 AD patients before and after dupilumab treatment and from 17 healthy subjects and analyzed by RNA-seq. RESULTS: At baseline, we detected 6745 and 4859 differentially expressed genes between lesional and nonlesional skin versus normal, respectively, whereas 841 and 977 genes were differentially expressed after treatment, respectively (fold change >1.5 and false discovery rate <0.05). Tape-strips captured significant modulation with dupilumab in key AD immune (eg, C-C motif chemokine ligand 13 [CCL13], CCL17, CCL18) and barrier (eg, periplakin, FA2H) biomarkers. Changes in biomarkers (CCL20, interleukin 34, FABP7) were also significantly correlated with clinical disease improvements (Eczema Area and Severity Index; R > 0.5 or R < -0.4, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This real-life study represents the first comprehensive RNA-seq molecular profiling of tape-strips from moderate to severe AD patients after dupilumab therapy. Analysis of tape strip specimens detected significant gene expression changes in key AD biomarkers with dupilumab treatment, suggesting that this approach may be useful to monitor therapeutic responses in inflammatory skin diseases.

Effects of High- and Low-LET Radiation on Human Hematopoietic System Reconstituted in Immunodeficient Mice.

Over the last 50 years, a number of important physiological changes in humans who have traveled on spaceflights have been catalogued. Of major concern are the short- and long-term radiation-induced injuries to the hematopoietic system that may be induced by high-energy galactic cosmic rays encountered on interplanetary space missions. To collect data on the effects of space radiation on the human hematopoietic system in vivo, we used a humanized mouse model. In this study, we irradiated humanized mice with 0.4 Gy of 350 MeV/n 28Si ions, a dose that has been shown to induce tumors in tumor-prone mice and a reference dose that has a relative biological effectiveness of 1 (1 Gy of 250-kVp X rays). Cell counts, cell subset frequency and cytogenetic data were collected from bone marrow spleen and blood of irradiated and control mice at short-term (7, 30 and 60 days) and long-term ( 6 - 7 months) time points postirradiation. The data show a significant short-term effect on the human hematopoietic stem cell counts imparted by both high- and low-LET radiation exposure. The radiation effects on bone marrow, spleen and blood human cell counts and human cell subset frequency were complex but did not alter the functions of the hematopoietic system. The long-term data acquired from high-LET irradiated mice showed complete recovery of the human hematopoietic system in all hematopoietic compartments. The combined results demonstrate that, in spite of early perturbation, the longer term effects of high-LET radiation are not detrimental to human hematopoiesis in our system of study.

Global Gene Expression Response in Mouse Models of DNA Repair Deficiency after Gamma Irradiation.

In the event of an improvised nuclear device or "dirty bomb" in a highly populated area, potentially hundreds of thousands of people will require screening to ensure that exposed individuals receive appropriate treatment. For this reason, there is a need to develop tools for high-throughput radiation biodosimetry. Gene expression represents an emerging approach to biodosimetry and could potentially provide an estimate of both absorbed dose and individual radiation-induced injury. Since approximately 2-4% of humans are thought to be radiosensitive, and would suffer greater radiological injury at a given dose than members of the general population, it is of interest to explore the potential impact of such sensitivity on the biodosimetric gene expression signatures being developed. In this study, we used wild-type mice and genetically engineered mouse models deficient in two DNA repair pathways that can contribute to radiation sensitivity to estimate the maximum effect of differences in radiosensitivity. We compared gene expression in response to a roughly equitoxic (LD50/30) dose of gamma rays in wild-type C57BL/6 (8 Gy) and DNA double-strand break repair-deficient Atm-/- (4 Gy) and Prkdcscid (3 Gy) mutants of C57BL/6. Overall, 780 genes were significantly differentially expressed in wild-type mice one day postirradiation, 232 in Atm-/- and 269 in Prkdcscid. Upstream regulators including TP53 and NFκB were predicted to be activated by radiation exposure in the wild-type mice, but not in either of the DNA repair-deficient mutant strains. There was also a significant muting of the apparent inflammatory response triggered by radiation in both mutant strains. These differences impacted the ability of gene expression signatures developed in wild-type mice to detect potentially fatal radiation exposure in the DNA repair-deficient mice, with the greatest impact on Atm-/- mice. However, the inclusion of mutant mice in gene selection vastly improved performance of the classifiers.

Impact of Neutron Exposure on Global Gene Expression in a Human Peripheral Blood Model.

The detonation of an improvised nuclear device would produce prompt radiation consisting of both photons (gamma rays) and neutrons. While much effort in recent years has gone into the development of radiation biodosimetry methods suitable for mass triage, the possible effect of neutrons on the endpoints studied has remained largely uninvestigated. We have used a novel neutron irradiator with an energy spectrum based on that 1-1.5 km from the epicenter of the Hiroshima blast to begin examining the effect of neutrons on global gene expression, and the impact this may have on the development of gene expression signatures for radiation biodosimetry. We have exposed peripheral blood from healthy human donors to 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 or 1 Gy of neutrons ex vivo using our neutron irradiator, and compared the transcriptomic response 24 h later to that resulting from sham exposure or exposure to 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1, 2 or 4 Gy of photons (X rays). We identified 125 genes that responded significantly to both radiation qualities as a function of dose, with the magnitude of response to neutrons generally being greater than that seen after X-ray exposure. Gene ontology analysis suggested broad involvement of the p53 signaling pathway and general DNA damage response functions across all doses of both radiation qualities. Regulation of immune response and chromatin-related functions were implicated only following the highest doses of neutrons, suggesting a physiological impact of greater DNA damage. We also identified several genes that seem to respond primarily as a function of dose, with less effect of radiation quality. We confirmed this pattern of response by quantitative real-time RT-PCR for BAX, TNFRSF10B, ITLN2 and AEN and suggest that gene expression may provide a means to differentiate between total dose and a neutron component.

Radiation dose-rate effects on gene expression for human biodosimetry.

BACKGROUND: The effects of dose-rate and its implications on radiation biodosimetry methods are not well studied in the context of large-scale radiological scenarios. There are significant health risks to individuals exposed to an acute dose, but a realistic scenario would include exposure to both high and low dose-rates, from both external and internal radioactivity. It is important therefore, to understand the biological response to prolonged exposure; and further, discover biomarkers that can be used to estimate damage from low-dose rate exposures and propose appropriate clinical treatment. METHODS: We irradiated human whole blood ex vivo to three doses, 0.56 Gy, 2.23 Gy and 4.45 Gy, using two dose rates: acute, 1.03 Gy/min and a low dose-rate, 3.1 mGy/min. After 24 h, we isolated RNA from blood cells and these were hybridized to Agilent Whole Human genome microarrays. We validated the microarray results using qRT-PCR. RESULTS: Microarray results showed that there were 454 significantly differentially expressed genes after prolonged exposure to all doses. After acute exposure, 598 genes were differentially expressed in response to all doses. Gene ontology terms enriched in both sets of genes were related to immune processes and B-cell mediated immunity. Genes responding to acute exposure were also enriched in functions related to natural killer cell activation and cell-to-cell signaling. As expected, the p53 pathway was found to be significantly enriched at all doses and by both dose-rates of radiation. A support vectors machine classifier was able to distinguish between dose-rates with 100 % accuracy using leave-one-out cross-validation. CONCLUSIONS: In this study we found that low dose-rate exposure can result in distinctive gene expression patterns compared with acute exposures. We were able to successfully distinguish low dose-rate exposed samples from acute dose exposed samples at 24 h, using a gene expression-based classifier. These genes are candidates for further testing as markers to classify exposure based on dose-rate.