Systematic screening and identification of novel psoriasis‑specific genes from the transcriptome of psoriasis‑like keratinocytes

SERPINB7 as a prognostic biomarker in cervical cancer: Association with immune infiltration and facilitation of the malignant phenotype

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression patterns, predictive significance, and roles in the immune microenvironment of Serpin Family-B Member 7 (SERPINB7) in cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC).

Methods

The expression of SERPINB7 and its prognostic relevance were evaluated using RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. SERPINB7 regulation of CESC cell growth and metastasis was investigated using MTT, scratch, and Transwell assays. In vivo effects of SERPINB7 were examined in xenograft model mice and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with SERPINB7 were identified to explore its functional role in oncogenesis. Associations between SERPINB7 levels, chemosensitivity, and immune infiltration were assessed, and mutations and methylation of SERPINB7 were evaluated using the cBioPortal and MethSurv databases, respectively.

Results

SERPINB7 was up-regulated in CESC samples as well as in other tumors, and patients with higher SERPINB7A mRNA levels exhibited shorter overall survival. The area under the curve for the use of SERPINB7 in CESC diagnosis was above 0.9, and the gene was shown to regulate tumor cell proliferation and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Overall, 398 DEGs enriched in key CESC progression-related signaling pathways were identified. SERPINB7 expression was additionally correlated with intratumoral immune infiltration and immune checkpoint activity. Patients expressing higher SERPINB7 levels exhibited distinct chemosensitivity profiles, and methylation of the SERPINB7 gene was linked to CESC patient prognostic outcomes.

Conclusion

SERPINB7 was found to be a crucial regulator of CESC progression, prognosis, and the tumor immune microenvironment, highlighting its potential as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker and target for CESC immunotherapy.

WFDC12-overexpressing contributes to the development of atopic dermatitis via accelerating ALOX12/15 metabolism and PAF accumulation

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by eczema-like skin lesions, dry skin, severe itching, and recurrent recurrence. The whey acidic protein four-disulfide core domain gene WFDC12 is highly expressed in skin tissue and up-regulated in the skin lesions of AD patients, but its role and relevant mechanism in AD pathogenesis have not been studied yet. In this study, we found that the expression of WFDC12 was closely related to clinical symptoms of AD and the severity of AD-like lesions induced by DNFB in transgenic mice. WFDC12-overexpressing in the epidermis might promote the migration of skin-presenting cells to lymph nodes and increase Th cell infiltration. Meanwhile, the number and ratio of immune cells and mRNA levels of cytokines were significantly upregulated in transgenic mice. In addition, we found that ALOX12/15 gene expression was upregulated in the arachidonic acid metabolism pathway, and the corresponding metabolite accumulation was increased. The activity of epidermal serine hydrolase decreased and the accumulation of platelet-activating factor (PAF) increased in the epidermis of transgenic mice. Collectively, our data demonstrate that WFDC12 may contribute to the exacerbation of AD-like symptoms in DNFB-induced mouse model by enhancing arachidonic acid metabolism and PAF accumulation and that WFDC12 may be a potential therapeutic target for human atopic dermatitis.

A role for whey acidic protein four-disulfide-core 12 (WFDC12) in the pathogenesis and development of psoriasis disease

Whey acidic protein four-disulfide core domain protein 12 (WFDC12) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of psoriasis but the specific molecular mechanism is not clearly defined. In this study, we found the expression of WFDC12 protein closely correlated with psoriasis. WFDC12 in keratinocyte might increase infiltration of Langerhans cells (LCs) and monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDDCs), up-regulating the co-stimulation molecular CD40/CD86. Th1 cells in lymph nodes were higher in K14-WFDC12 transgenic psoiasis-like mice. Meanwhile, the mRNA of IL-12 and IFN-γ in the lesion skin was significantly increased in transgenic mice. Moreover, we found that the expression of the proteins that participated in the retinoic acid–related pathway and immune signaling pathway was more changed in the lesion skin of K14-WFDC12 transgenic psoriasis-like mice. Collectively, the results implied that WFDC12 might affect the activation of the retinoic acid signaling pathway and regulate the infiltration of DC cells in the skin lesions and lymph nodes, thereby inducing Th1 cells differentiation and increasing the secretion of IFN-γ to exacerbate psoriasis in mice.

SerpinB7 deficiency contributes to development of psoriasis via calcium-mediated keratinocyte differentiation dysfunction

Defective execution of proteases and protease inhibitors that mediate abnormal signaling cascades is emerging as a key contributor to skin diseases, such as psoriasis. SerpinB7 is identified as a skin-specific endogenous protease inhibitor, but the role and underlying mechanism in psoriasis are poorly understood. Here we found that SerpinB7 is highly expressed in psoriatic keratinocytes of patients and imiquimod-induced psoriatic lesions in mice. SerpinB7^-/- mice showed abnormal epidermal barrier integrity and skin architecture in homeostasis, and aggravated psoriatic lesion with inhibiting terminal differentiation and increasing inflammatory cells infiltration compared to SerpinB7^+/+ mice after Imiquimod treatment. Mechanistically, SerpinB7 deficiency results in excessive proliferation and impaired differentiation, as well as increased chemokines and antimicrobial peptide expression in normal human epidermal keratinocyte and mouse primary keratinocyte. Transcriptomics and proteomics results showed that the SeprinB7 deficiency affected keratinocyte differentiation and proinflammatory cytokines, possibly by affecting the calcium ion channel-related proteins. Notably, we demonstrated that SerpinB7 deficiency prevented the increase in intracellular Ca²⁺ influx, which was partly eliminated by the intracellular Ca²⁺ chelator BAPTA-AM. Our findings first described the critical role of SerpinB7 in the regulation of keratinocyte differentiation and psoriatic microenvironment mediated via keratinocytes' intracellular calcium flux, proposing a new candidate for therapeutic targets in psoriasis.

Orchestrated Cytokines Mediated by Biologics in Psoriasis and Its Mechanisms of Action

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease mediated by disturbed T cells and other immune cells, and is defined by deep-red, well-demarcated skin lesions. Due to its varied etiologies and indefinite standard pathogenesis, it is challenging to consider the right treatment exclusively for each psoriasis patient; thus, researchers yearn to seek even more precise treatments other than topical treatment and systemic therapy. Using biologics to target specific immune components, such as upregulated cytokines secreted by activated immune cells, is the most advanced therapy for psoriasis to date. By inhibiting the appropriate pro-inflammatory cytokines, cellular signaling can be altered and, thus, can inhibit further downstream inflammatory pathways. Herein, the roles of cytokines with their mechanisms of action in progressing psoriasis and how the usage of biologics alleviates cellular inflammation are discussed. In addition, other potential pro-inflammatory cytokines, with their mechanism of action, are presented herein. The authors hope that this gathered information may benefit future research in expanding the discovery of targeted psoriasis therapy.

Transcriptome Profiling Analyses in Psoriasis: A Dynamic Contribution of Keratinocytes to the Pathogenesis

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease with a complex etiology involving environmental and genetic factors. A better insight into related genomic alteration helps design precise therapies leading to better treatment outcome. Gene expression in psoriasis can provide relevant information about the altered expression of mRNA transcripts, thus giving new insights into the disease onset. Techniques for transcriptome analyses, such as microarray and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), are relevant tools for the discovery of new biomarkers as well as new therapeutic targets. This review summarizes the findings related to the contribution of keratinocytes in the pathogenesis of psoriasis by an in-depth review of studies that have examined psoriatic transcriptomes in the past years. It also provides valuable information on reconstructed 3D psoriatic skin models using cells isolated from psoriatic patients for transcriptomic studies.