Increased IL-31 expression in serum and tissue protein in prurigo nodularis

Abstract

Background: Prurigo nodularis (PN) is a chronic pruritic skin disease which can greatly impact patients’ quality of life. Moreover, the pathogenesis remains unclear, making it a difficult-to-treat condition. Aims: To investigate the expression of interleukin-31 (IL-31) in serum and skin biopsy specimens of PN patients and healthy subjects and identify its possible correlation to disease severity and itch intensity. Methods: Patients with PN and healthy volunteers were recruited for the study. Expression levels of IL-31 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry. Baseline characteristics, disease activity, itch intensity, and related laboratory results were collected. Results: Forty-three PN patients and 31 healthy subjects participated in our study. The PN patients had significantly higher mean serum IL-31 levels than the healthy subjects (52.9 ± 18.2 versus 36.3 ± 10.7 pg/ml, p < 0.001). Epidermal and dermal PN lesions also exhibited significantly higher IL-31 expression compared with the healthy skin ( p < 0.001 and p = 0.01, respectively). However, there was no significant difference in serum or lesional expression of IL-31 by disease severity or itch intensity. Conclusion: Increased IL-31 expression in serum and PN lesions suggests that IL-31 has a potential role in the pathogenesis of PN.

Comprehensive plasma cytokine and chemokine profiling in prurigo nodularis reveals endotypes in Type 2 inflammation

“…In comparing cytokine levels of patients with PN to healthy controls, we found that IL-6, TNF-α, IL-12/IL23p40, MIP-1α/CCL3, MDC/CCL22, TSLP, IL-10, IL-15, sVCAM-1, sICAM-1, and SAA were significantly elevated. Prior studies have found elevated levels of CUB domain-containing protein 1 (CDCP1), Monocyte Chemotactic Protein 3 (MCP-3), IL-13, periostin, IL-31, IL-6, caspase 8, β-endorphin, and autotaxin in the blood of PN patients 5 – 7 , 23 – 25 . Several Th1/Th17 associated cytokines that were elevated in PN compared to HCs and have not been previously linked to PN include MIP-1α/CCL3 and IL-15.…”

In chronic spontaneous urticaria, IgE and C‐reactive protein are linked to distinct microRNAs and interleukin‐31

“…IL‐31, a member of the IL‐6 cytokine family, is a pruritic proinflammatory cytokine 60 . Not surprisingly, IL‐31 levels are elevated in pruritic diseases such as atopic dermatitis, 19 prurigo nodularis, 61 lichen planus, 62 and uremic pruritus 63 . Furthermore, elevated IL‐31 levels have been reported in autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, 64 systemic lupus erythematosus, 65 dermatomyositis, 66 bullous pemphigoid, 67 and subtypes of pemphigus including the non‐pruritic subtype pemphigus vegetans 68 …”

Chronische Prurigo

“…22 Erhöhte Konzentration von Interleukinen, wie IL-13 und IL-31, wurden im Blut von Patienten mit CNPG gefunden. [23][24][25][26] Bei CNPG wurde eine verringerte intraepidermale Nervenfaserdichte nachgewiesen, und die veränderte Neuroanatomie steht in Zusammenhang mit einer veränderten Nervenfaserfunktion und neuronaler Überempfindlichkeit. 15,18,27 Genetische Studien haben spezifische Varianten identifiziert, die mit CNPG assoziiert sind, unter anderem in der Nähe der Gene PLCB4 (Phospholipase C-β4) und TXNRD1 (Thioredoxin-Reduktase 1).…”