ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Italian Journal of Dermatology and Venereology 2022 February;157(1):62-8

DOI: 10.23736/S2784-8671.20.06878-9

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Analysis of key markers: IL-10/sHLA-G in psoriasis patients and the identification of 14-bp INDEL in the HLA-G gene

Martyna BIENIEK-KOBUSZEWSKA ¹ ✉, Agnieszka OWCZARCZYK-SACZONEK ¹, Agata MACIEJEWSKA-RADOMSKA ², Paweł WOJTACHA ³, Waldemar PLACEK ¹

¹ Department and Clinic of Dermatology, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Clinical Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Collegium Medicum, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland; ² DermArt Polyclinic, Gdynia, Poland; ³ Department of Industrial and Food Microbiology, Faculty of Food Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammation resulting from interactions between immunological and genetic factors. An important tolerogenic role in this autoimmunological disease is played by HLA-G, which is modulated by IL-10. Therefore, this study (N.=80) aimed to evaluate changes in the serum sHLA-G and IL-10 levels in active psoriasis vulgaris and in the early stages of treatment with Methotrexate (MTX) compared to healthy controls. The 14-bp INDEL of the HLA-G gene was evaluated to find possible associations with clinical and laboratory variables.
METHODS: The level of sHLA-G and IL-10 in serum was evaluated (ELISA tests) in patients before the first dose of MTX and at week 12 of treatment, compared to healthy control donors. The 14-bp INDEL in 3’UTR of the HLA-G gene was identified using gDNA templates isolated from full blood. HLA-G amplicons were obtained by PCR, separated by electrophoresis and sequenced.
RESULTS: The mean serum IL-10 level was 4.653±3.33 pg/mL in psoriatic patients, 13.3±9.64 pg/mL after short MTX treatment, compared to 6.23 pg/mL in healthy controls. In addition, the serum level of sHLA-G was 0.275±0.03 ng/mL and 0.332±0.06 ng/mL in patients before and after MTX treatment, respectively, and 0.302±0.08 ng/mL in the control group. A correlation was found (r=-0.43; P<0.005) between the IL-10 and BSA serum levels in psoriasis patients after MTX treatment, indicating health improvement. The three genotypes identified in the 3’UTR of the HLA-G revealed no association with sHLA-G level in serum.
CONCLUSIONS: The mean levels of sHLA-G and the key anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in the blood of pretreatment psoriasis patients are low and indicate that the immunotolerance mechanisms have failed. Treatment of psoriasis patients with low systemic levels of sHLA-G and IL-10 brings them to the same or higher protein levels, respectively, as in healthy donors. Higher sHLA-G levels in healthy donors and after MTX treatment, compared to the sHLA-G levels in the acute phase of psoriasis, indicates its immune system surveillance function.

KEY WORDS: Interleukin-10; Dermatology; Psoriasis