Tali Czarnowicki1, Helen He2, Alexandra Leonard2, Hyun Je Kim2, Naoya Kameyama2, Ana B Pavel2, Randall Li2, Yeriel Estrada2, Huei-Chi Wen2, Grace W Kimmel2, Hee J Kim2, Margot Chima2, Mark Lebwohl2, James G Krueger3, Emma Guttman-Yassky4. 1. Department of Dermatology and the Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY; Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology, Rockefeller University, New York, NY. 2. Department of Dermatology and the Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY. 3. Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology, Rockefeller University, New York, NY. 4. Department of Dermatology and the Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY. Electronic address: emma.guttman@mountsinai.org.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Peripheral blood skin-homing/cutaneous lymphocyte antigen (CLA)+ T cells emerge as biomarkers of cutaneous immune activation in patients with inflammatory skin diseases (atopic dermatitis [AD] and alopecia areata [AA]). However, blood phenotyping across these subsets is not yet available in patients with vitiligo. OBJECTIVE: We sought to measure cytokine production by circulating skin-homing (CLA+) versus systemic (CLA-) "polar" CD4+/CD8+ ratio and activated T-cell subsets in patients with vitiligo compared with patients with AA, AD, or psoriasis and control subjects. METHODS: Flow cytometry was used to measure levels of the cytokines IFN-γ, IL-13, IL-9, IL-17, and IL-22 in CD4+/CD8+ T cells in the blood of 19 patients with moderate-to-severe nonsegmental/generalized vitiligo, moderate-to-severe AA (n = 32), psoriasis (n = 24), or AD (n = 43) and control subjects (n = 30). Unsupervised clustering differentiated subjects into groups based on cellular frequencies. RESULTS: Patients with Vitiligo showed the highest CLA+/CLA- TH1/type 1 cytotoxic T-cell polarization, with parallel TH2/TH9/TH17/TH22 level increases to levels often greater than those seen in patients with AA, AD, or psoriasis (P < .05). Total regulatory T-cell counts were lower in patients with vitiligo than in control subjects and patients with AD or psoriasis (P < .001). Vitiligo severity correlated with levels of multiple cytokines (P < .1), whereas duration was linked with IFN-γ and IL-17 levels (P < .04). Patients and control subjects grouped into separate clusters based on blood biomarkers. CONCLUSIONS: Vitiligo is characterized by a multicytokine polarization among circulating skin-homing and systemic subsets, which differentiates it from other inflammatory/autoimmune skin diseases. Future targeted therapies should delineate the relative contribution of each cytokine axis to disease perpetuation.
BACKGROUND: Peripheral blood skin-homing/cutaneous lymphocyte antigen (CLA)+ T cells emerge as biomarkers of cutaneous immune activation in patients with inflammatory skin diseases (atopic dermatitis [AD] and alopecia areata [AA]). However, blood phenotyping across these subsets is not yet available in patients with vitiligo. OBJECTIVE: We sought to measure cytokine production by circulating skin-homing (CLA+) versus systemic (CLA-) "polar" CD4+/CD8+ ratio and activated T-cell subsets in patients with vitiligo compared with patients with AA, AD, or psoriasis and control subjects. METHODS: Flow cytometry was used to measure levels of the cytokines IFN-γ, IL-13, IL-9, IL-17, and IL-22 in CD4+/CD8+ T cells in the blood of 19 patients with moderate-to-severe nonsegmental/generalized vitiligo, moderate-to-severe AA (n = 32), psoriasis (n = 24), or AD (n = 43) and control subjects (n = 30). Unsupervised clustering differentiated subjects into groups based on cellular frequencies. RESULTS:Patients with Vitiligo showed the highest CLA+/CLA- TH1/type 1 cytotoxic T-cell polarization, with parallel TH2/TH9/TH17/TH22 level increases to levels often greater than those seen in patients with AA, AD, or psoriasis (P < .05). Total regulatory T-cell counts were lower in patients with vitiligo than in control subjects and patients with AD or psoriasis (P < .001). Vitiligo severity correlated with levels of multiple cytokines (P < .1), whereas duration was linked with IFN-γ and IL-17 levels (P < .04). Patients and control subjects grouped into separate clusters based on blood biomarkers. CONCLUSIONS: Vitiligo is characterized by a multicytokine polarization among circulating skin-homing and systemic subsets, which differentiates it from other inflammatory/autoimmune skin diseases. Future targeted therapies should delineate the relative contribution of each cytokine axis to disease perpetuation.
Authors: Tali Czarnowicki; Helen He; Talia Canter; Joseph Han; Rachel Lefferdink; Taylor Erickson; Stephanie Rangel; Naoya Kameyama; Hyun Je Kim; Ana B Pavel; Yeriel Estrada; James G Krueger; Amy S Paller; Emma Guttman-Yassky Journal: J Allergy Clin Immunol Date: 2019-10-15 Impact factor: 10.793
Authors: Emma Guttman-Yassky; Andrew Blauvelt; Lawrence F Eichenfield; Amy S Paller; April W Armstrong; Janice Drew; Ramanan Gopalan; Eric L Simpson Journal: JAMA Dermatol Date: 2020-04-01 Impact factor: 10.282