Project description:Transcriptional profiling of Homo sapiens inflammatory skin diseases (whole skin biospies): Psoriasis (Pso), vs Atopic Dermatitis (AD) vs Lichen planus (Li), vs Contact Eczema (KE), vs Healthy control (KO) In recent years, different genes and proteins have been highlighted as potential biomarkers for psoriasis, one of the most common inflammatory skin diseases worldwide. However, most of these markers are not psoriasis-specific but also found in other inflammatory disorders. We performed an unsupervised cluster analysis of gene expression profiles in 150 psoriasis patients and other inflammatory skin diseases (atopic dermatitis, lichen planus, contact eczema, and healthy controls). We identified a cluster of IL-17/TNFα-associated genes specifically expressed in psoriasis, among which IL-36γ was the most outstanding marker. In subsequent immunohistological analyses IL-36γ was confirmed to be expressed in psoriasis lesions only. IL-36γ peripheral blood serum levels were found to be closely associated with disease activity, and they decreased after anti-TNFα-treatment. Furthermore, IL-36γ immunohistochemistry was found to be a helpful marker in the histological differential diagnosis between psoriasis and eczema in diagnostically challenging cases. These features highlight IL-36γ as a valuable biomarker in psoriasis patients, both for diagnostic purposes and measurement of disease activity during the clinical course. Furthermore, IL-36γ might also provide a future drug target, due to its potential amplifier role in TNFα- and IL-17 pathways in psoriatic skin inflammation. In recent years, different genes and proteins have been highlighted as potential biomarkers for psoriasis, one of the most common inflammatory skin diseases worldwide. However, most of these markers are not psoriasis-specific but also found in other inflammatory disorders. We performed an unsupervised cluster analysis of gene expression profiles in 150 psoriasis patients and other inflammatory skin diseases (atopic dermatitis, lichen planus, contact eczema, and healthy controls). We identified a cluster of IL-17/TNFα-associated genes specifically expressed in psoriasis, among which IL-36γ was the most outstanding marker. In subsequent immunohistological analyses IL-36γ was confirmed to be expressed in psoriasis lesions only. IL-36γ peripheral blood serum levels were found to be closely associated with disease activity, and they decreased after anti-TNFα-treatment. Furthermore, IL-36γ immunohistochemistry was found to be a helpful marker in the histological differential diagnosis between psoriasis and eczema in diagnostically challenging cases. These features highlight IL-36γ as a valuable biomarker in psoriasis patients, both for diagnostic purposes and measurement of disease activity during the clinical course. Furthermore, IL-36γ might also provide a future drug target, due to its potential amplifier role in TNFα- and IL-17 pathways in psoriatic skin inflammation.
Project description:Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) causes severe disability of children and death of young men, with an incidence of approximately 1/5,000 male births. Symptoms appear in early childhood, with a diagnosis made around 4, a time where the amount of muscle damage is already significant, preventing early therapeutic interventions that could be more efficient at halting disease progression. In the meantime, the precise moment at which disease phenotypes arise – even asymptomatically – is still unknown. Thus, there is a critical need to better define DMD onset as well as its first manifestations, which could help identify early disease biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets. In this study, we have used human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) from DMD patients to model skeletal myogenesis, and compared their differentiation dynamics to healthy control cells by a comprehensive multi-omics analysis. Transcriptome and miRnome comparisons combined with protein analyses at 7 time points demonstrate that hiPSC differentiation 1) mimics described DMD phenotypes at the differentiation endpoint; and 2) homogeneously and robustly recapitulates key developmental steps - mesoderm, somite, skeletal muscle - which offers the possibility to explore dystrophin functions and find earlier disease biomarkers. Starting at the somite stage, mitochondrial gene dysregulations escalate during differentiation. We also describe fibrosis as an intrinsic feature of skeletal muscle cells that starts early during myogenesis. In sum, our data strongly argue for an early developmental manifestation of DMD whose onset is triggered before the entry into the skeletal muscle compartment, data leading to a necessary reconsideration of dystrophin functions during muscle development.