Association of chemokines and prolactin with cherry angioma in a sulfur mustard exposed population--Sardasht-Iran cohort study.

Exposure to SM leads to short and long term adverse effects on various organs including the skin. Cherry angioma is one of the late skin disorders in SM exposed individuals. The pathogenesis of abnormal angiogenesis in cherry angioma is not well known but the role of inflammatory mediators and certain hormones, including prolactin, in the regulation of angiogenesis in other diseases has been reported. Alterations in serum levels of prolactin and chemokines in SM-exposed victims and the impact on angiogenesis are indications of the role in SM-induced cherry angioma. As part of the SICS, this study seeks to evaluate the possible association of prolactin and chemokines in the emergence of SM-induced cherry angioma. The serum concentrations of prolactin, IL-8/CXCL8, RANTES/CCL5, MCP-1/CCL2, and fractalkine/CX3CL1 were titrated using sandwich ELISA technique. There was a significant difference in the level of prolactin between the exposed subgroups (with cherry angioma n=72; mean: 10.13) and without cherry angioma (n=268; mean: 13.13, p<0.0096). Median of the serum levels of CCL2 in the exposed patients with cherry angioma was significantly higher than exposed patients without cherry angioma (median=203.5 pg/ml and median=187.10 pg/ml respectively, p=0.035). There was no significant difference in the serum levels of IL-8, RANTES and CX3L1 between the exposed subgroups with cherry angioma and without cherry angioma. This finding serves as a basis for further research on the molecular mechanisms and pathways involved in the pathogenesis of cherry angioma and other related disorders.