1
|
Conteduca G, Rossi A, Megiorni F, Parodi A, Ferrera F, Tardito S, Altosole T, Fausti V, Occella C, Kalli F, Negrini S, Pizzuti A, Marchese C, Rizza E, Indiveri F, Coviello D, Fenoglio D, Filaci G. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 3'-untranslated region inducible costimulator gene and the important roles of miRNA in alopecia areata. Skin Health Dis 2021; 1:e34. [PMID: 35664973 PMCID: PMC9060044 DOI: 10.1002/ski2.34] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Background Alopecia areata (AA) spares the stem cell compartment and attacks only the base of the hair follicle, which is surrounded by infiltrating lymphocytes. AA is associated with polymorphisms in immune-related genes and with decreased function of CD4+CD25+ T regulatory (Treg) cells. Treg function is modulated by the costimulatory molecules, like inducible costimulator (ICOS) that are crucial in orienting T cell differentiation and function so that they strongly impact on the immunologic decision between tolerance or autoimmunity development. Objective The aim of our study was to investigate the possible association of AA with single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) present in the ICOS 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) region and to elucidate how SNPs modulate ICOS gene expression by affecting miRNA binding sites. Methods This is a case-control study performed in 184 patients with AA and 200 controls. ICOS gene and miRNA expression were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results The genotype carrying the rs4404254(C) [p = 0.012, OR (95% CI): 0.5 (0.3-0.8)] and rs4675379(C) [p = 0.015, OR (95% CI): 0.3 (0.1-0.8)] 3' UTR alleles was more frequently observed in AA patients than in controls and correlated with a reduced ICOS expression. miR-1276 significantly suppressed ICOS expression by binding to the 3'UTR of ICOS mRNA. Also, we observed that, miR-101 and miR-27b are upregulated, while miR-103 and miR-2355-3p are downregulated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of AA patients compared to controls. Conclusion Our data show that rs4404254 and rs4675379 SNPs of ICOS gene are associated with AA and also reveal that the presence of rs4404254 polymorphism correlates with ICOS post-transcriptional repression by microRNA binding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- G Conteduca
- Laboratory of Human Genetics IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini Genoa Italy
| | - A Rossi
- Department of Anesthesiology and Cardiovascular Clinical Internal Sciences "Sapienza" University of Rome Rome Italy
| | - F Megiorni
- Department of Experimental Medicine "Sapienza" University of Rome Rome Italy
| | - A Parodi
- Biotherapies Unit IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino Genoa Italy
| | - F Ferrera
- Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research and Department of Internal Medicine University of Genoa Genoa Italy
| | - S Tardito
- Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research and Department of Internal Medicine University of Genoa Genoa Italy
| | - T Altosole
- Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research and Department of Internal Medicine University of Genoa Genoa Italy
| | - V Fausti
- Dermatology Unit IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini Genoa Italy
| | - C Occella
- Dermatology Unit IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini Genoa Italy
| | - F Kalli
- Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research and Department of Internal Medicine University of Genoa Genoa Italy
| | - S Negrini
- Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research and Department of Internal Medicine University of Genoa Genoa Italy
| | - A Pizzuti
- Department of Experimental Medicine "Sapienza" University of Rome Rome Italy
| | - C Marchese
- Department of Experimental Medicine "Sapienza" University of Rome Rome Italy
| | - E Rizza
- Associazione Nazionale Alopecia Areata Genoa Italy
| | - F Indiveri
- Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research and Department of Internal Medicine University of Genoa Genoa Italy
| | - D Coviello
- Laboratory of Human Genetics IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini Genoa Italy
| | - D Fenoglio
- Biotherapies Unit IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino Genoa Italy.,Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research and Department of Internal Medicine University of Genoa Genoa Italy
| | - G Filaci
- Biotherapies Unit IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino Genoa Italy.,Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research and Department of Internal Medicine University of Genoa Genoa Italy
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Kalli F, Cioni M, Parodi A, Altosole T, Ferrera F, Barra G, De Palma R, Fenoglio D, Filaci G, Rongioletti F. Increased frequency of interleukin-4 and reduced frequency of interferon-γ and IL-17-producing CD4+ and CD8+ cells in scleromyxedema. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2020; 34:1092-1097. [PMID: 31912592 DOI: 10.1111/jdv.16136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Little is known about the pathogenesis of scleromyxedema, a life-threatening fibromucinosis disease with immunological dysregulation. OBJECTIVES To investigate on T-cell phenotype, function and cytokine biology in search of new insights supporting the immunopathogenesis of the disease. METHODS We analysed the frequency of circulating lymphocyte subsets, the T-cell maturation stage, the generation of antigen-specific T-cell lines and T-cell cytokine secretion. RESULTS The analysis of T-cell maturation stage and the TCR spectratyping findings revealed that scleromyxedema patients showed clear immunological signs of long-lasting immune system activation and stimulation leading to a skewed T-cell repertoire. Moreover, these analyses showed that both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from scleromyxedema patients have a profound deficiency (even after stimulation) relatively to the production of IFN-γ and IL17 with respect to healthy donor control cells, while they are massively skewed towards IL4 secretion after stimulation. CONCLUSIONS Our data indicate that a chronic Th2-skewed T-cell response against an unknown target antigen leading to abnormally high IL4 secretion, a pro-fibrotic cytokine, is a main immunological hallmark of scleromyxedema patients. These results, never reported before, may have a translational therapeutic value due to the availability of anti-IL4 agents such as dupilumab.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- F Kalli
- Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - M Cioni
- Section of Dermatology, DISSAL, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.,Section of Pathology, Department of Surgical and Morphological Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - A Parodi
- Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - T Altosole
- Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - F Ferrera
- Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - G Barra
- Department of Precision Medicine, Università della Campania "L. Vanvitelli", Napoli, Italy
| | - R De Palma
- Institute of Protein Biochemistry, CNR, Napoli, Italy.,Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - D Fenoglio
- Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.,Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - G Filaci
- Department of Internal Medicine and Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.,Bioterapy Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy
| | - F Rongioletti
- Section of Pathology, Department of Surgical and Morphological Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.,Department of Medical Science and Public Health, Unit of Dermatology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| |
Collapse
|