The Spectrum of Mild to Severe Psoriasis Vulgaris Is Defined by a Common Activation of IL-17 Pathway Genes, but with Key Differences in Immune Regulatory Genes
JOURNAL OF INVESTIGATIVE DERMATOLOGY
Authors: Kim, Jaehwan; Bissonnette, Robert; Lee, Jongmi; da Rosa, Joel Correa; Suarez-Farinas, Mayte; Lowes, Michelle A.; Krueger, James G.
Abstract
Mild versus severe psoriasis is often distinguished by clinical measures such as the extent of skin involvement or Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score, both of which use arbitrary boundaries. It is widely assumed that severe psoriasis involves higher levels of skin inflammation, but comparative molecular profiles of mild versus severe disease have not been performed. In this study, we used immunohistochemistry, reverse transcription PCR, and gene arrays to determine the phenotype of North American patients with mild psoriasis (n = 34, mean PASI score = 5.5) versus severe psoriasis (n = 23, mean PASI score = 23.2). Overall, skin inflammation, defined as the sum of T-cell infiltration/activation and IL-17-mediated epidermal responses, was not higher in severe psoriasis lesions. Surprisingly, mild psoriasis was characterized by higher numbers of T cells in skin lesions, higher IL-17A expression, and stronger expression of the core psoriasis transcriptome. In contrast, severe psoriasis was characterized by stronger expression of some epidermal response genes (TGFA, CALM1, SMPD3, and IL1RL2). However, a key molecular distinction was higher expression of negative immune regulatory genes (CTLA4, CD69 and PD-L1) in mild lesions compared with severe psoriasis lesions. These data have important implications for treating psoriasis across the spectrum of disease, as well as for potential mechanisms that allow psoriasis to progress to more extensive cutaneous disease.
Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cell Engulfment Reveals Metastatic Advantage in Breast Cancer
CELL REPORTS
Authors: Chen, Yu-Chih; Gonzalez, Maria E.; Burman, Boris; Zhao, Xintao; Anwar, Talha; Mai Tran; Medhora, Natasha; Hiziroglu, Ayse B.; Lee, Woncheol; Cheng, Yu-Heng; Choi, Yehyun; Yoon, Euisik; Kleer, Celina G.
Abstract
Twenty percent of breast cancer (BC) patients develop distant metastasis for which there is no cure. Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) in the tumor microenvironment were shown to stimulate metastasis, but the mechanisms are unclear. Here, we identified and quantified cancer cells engulfing stromal cells in clinical samples of BC metastasis by dual immunostaining for EZH2 and ALDH1 expression. Using flow cytometry and a microfluidic single-cell paring and retrieval platform, we show that MSC engulfment capacity is associated with BC cell metastatic potential and generates cells with mesenchymal-like, invasion, and stem cell traits. Whole-transcriptome analyses of selectively retrieved engulfing BC cells identify a gene signature of MSC engulfment consisting of WNT5A, MSR1, ELMO1, IL1RL2,ZPLD1, and SIRPB1. These results delineate a mechanism by which MSCs in the tumor microenvironment promote metastasis and provide a microfluidic platform with the potential to predict BC metastasis in clinical samples.