Myofibroblasts, B Cells, and Mast Cells in Different Types of Long-Standing Acne Scars

Lipid Metabolism Reprogramming of Immune Cells in Acne: An Update

Acne vulgaris is one of the most widespread skin conditions and the main reason for visiting a dermatologist. Inflammatory response and abnormal infiltrations of immune cells are the main pathogenesis of acne. The increased lipid is the prerequisite for the acne, and the perturbation of lipid composition and content is consistent with the severity of acne. Furthermore, the increased lipid production not only contributes to the occurrence and development of acne, but also sensitizes the function of immune cells. The lipid metabolic dysfunction aggravates the severity of local tissue and provides pro-inflammatory-cytokine cues, which indicates the crucial roles of lipid metabolism on immune cells. Recent advances have demonstrated the lipid metabolism reprogramming of various immune cells in acne lesion. The abnormal lipid accumulation, lipolysis, and fatty acid oxidation lead to the activation and differentiation of immune cells, which promotes the pro-inflammatory cytokines production. Thus, this review discusses the emerging role of lipid metabolism reprogramming of immune cells in the progress of acne and aims to constitute food for others' projects involved in acne research.

GEO data mining identifies potential immune-related genes in hypertrophic scar and verities in a rabbit model

Objective

Hypertrophic scar (HTS), the secondary major abnormal tissue after wound healing, is the most frequent and severe type of skin scar. Dysregulated immune response plays an important role in HTS formation. In this study, we identified the potential immune-related genes in HTS and explored their potential therapeutic significance.

Methods

We first screened out the potential immune-related genes in HTS microarrays via bioinformatics analysis using public datasets. We then constructed a rabbit model of ear scar to investigate the morphological features of HTS and verify the basic expression of potential immune-related genes in HTS tissue. Finally, we used AlphaFold to determine the protein homology between human and rabbit scar tissues.

Results

Bioinformatics analysis revealed 22 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and a single differential infiltration of immune cells (naïve B cells) in HTS and normal tissues. Six of the DEGs were correlated with naïve B cell numerically. CCL2, PLXDC2 and FOXF2 were expressed in rabbit ear scar model. PLXDC2 and FOXF2 showed relatively high homology between human and rabbit scar tissues.

Conclusions

PLXDC2 and FOXF2, both closely related to immune cell infiltration and specifically expressed in HTS, represent potential therapeutic targets in HTS.