Mechanisms of Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reactions: Recent Advances
DRUG SAFETY
Authors: Bellon, Teresa
Abstract
Cutaneous adverse drug reactions are unpredictable and include various different skin conditions of varying degrees of severity. The most concerning are usually referred to as severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs) and include acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP), drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), also known as drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DiHS) or hypersensitivity syndrome (HSS), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). All are delayed type IV hypersensitivity reactions in which a T-cell-mediated drug-specific immune response is responsible for causing the disease. Nonetheless, specific T-cell subpopulations develop in response to certain environmental conditions and produce cytokines that orchestrate the various phenotypes. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), T-helper type 1 (Th1), Th2, Th17, and regulatory T cells (Treg), among other T-cell subpopulations, participate in the development of SCAR phenotypes. Cell subpopulations belonging to the innate immune system, comprising natural killer cells, innate lymphoid cells, monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells, can also participate in shaping specific immune responses in various clinical conditions. Additionally, tissue-resident cells, including keratinocytes, can contribute to epidermal damage by secreting chemokines that attract pro-inflammatory immunocytes. The final phenotypes in each clinical entity result from the complex interactions between a variety of cell lineages, their products, soluble mediators and genetic and environmental factors. Although the pathophysiology of these reactions is not fully understood, intensive research in recent years has led to major progress in our understanding of the contribution of certain cell types and soluble mediators to the variability of SCAR phenotypes.
Identification of airway mucosal type 2 inflammation by using clinical biomarkers in asthmatic patients
JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY
Authors: Silkoff, Philip E.; Laviolette, Michel; Singh, Dave; FitzGerald, J. Mark; Kelsen, Steven; Backer, Vibeke; Porsbjerg, Celeste M.; Girodet, Pierre-Olivier; Berger, Patrick; Kline, Joel N.; Chupp, Geoffrey; Susulic, Vedrana S.; Barnathan, Elliot S.; Baribaud, Frederic; Loza, Matthew J.
Abstract
Background: The Airways Disease Endotyping for Personalized Therapeutics (ADEPT) study profiled patients with mild, moderate, and severe asthma and nonatopic healthy control subjects. Objective: We explored this data set to define type 2 inflammation based on airway mucosal IL-13-driven gene expression and how this related to clinically accessible biomarkers. Methods: IL-13-driven gene expression was evaluated in several human cell lines. We then defined type 2 status in 25 healthy subjects, 28 patients with mild asthma, 29 patients with moderate asthma, and 26 patients with severe asthma based on airway mucosal expression of (1) CCL26 (the most differentially expressed gene), (2) periostin, or (3) a multigene IL-13 in vitro signature (IVS). Clinically accessible biomarkers included fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) values, blood eosinophil (bEOS) counts, serum CCL26 expression, and serum CCL17 expression. Results: Expression of airway mucosal CCL26, periostin, and IL-13-IVS all facilitated segregation of subjects into type 2-high and type 2-low asthmatic groups, but in the ADEPT study population CCL26 expression was optimal. All subjects with high airway mucosal CCL26 expression and moderate-to-severe asthma had FENO values (>= 35 ppb) and/or high bEOS counts (>= 300 cells/mm(3)) compared with a minority (36%) of subjects with low airway mucosal CCL26 expression. A combination of FENO values, bEOS counts, and serum CCL17 and CCL26 expression had 100% positive predictive value and 87% negative predictive value for airway mucosal CCL26-high status. Clinical variables did not differ between subjects with type 2-high and type 2-low status. Eosinophilic inflammation was associated with but not limited to airway mucosal type 2 gene expression. Conclusion: A panel of clinical biomarkers accurately classified type 2 status based on airway mucosal CCL26, periostin, or IL13-IVS gene expression. Use of FENO values, bEOS counts, and serum marker levels (eg, CCL26 and CCL17) in combination might allow patient selection for novel type 2 therapeutics.