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Mast cells and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) expression positively correlates with pruritus intensity in dermatitis herpetiformis

  • Investigative Report
  • Published:
European Journal of Dermatology

Abstract

Background

Pruritus is one of the leading symptoms of dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), however, studies on the pathogenesis of pruritus are scarce. Currently, skin mast cells (MCs) have been indicated to play a role in pruritus in autoimmune bullous disease.

Objective

To study the role of mast cells and related mediators involved in the pathogenesis of pruritus in DH.

Materials & Methods

The number of MCs and expression of histamine and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) was investigated in lesions of 29 DH cases and 15 healthy skin donors by immunohistochemistry. Fourteen patients were assessed for severity of pruritus based on the Numeric Rating Scale and Pruritus Grading System. The levels of histamine and TSLP in the serum of 18 DH patients and 15 healthy controls were also investigated.

Results

A significant increase in the number of MCs and degranulation was observed in DH lesions, which positively correlated with intensity of pruritus. In addition, skin TSLP but not histamine was shown to correlate with intensity of pruritus. No significant difference in expression of serum TSLP or histamine was observed between DH patients and healthy controls.

Conclusion

These results suggest that skin MCs and TSLP might be involved in the pathogenesis of pruritus in DH which should be further clarified in future studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Jinan-Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, 250000, China

    Qianqian Xia, Hong Liu, Yonghu Sun & Furen Zhang

  2. Shandong Provincial Hospital for Skin Diseases & Shandong Provincial Institute of Dermatology and Veneorology, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, Shandong, China

    Qianqian Xia, Tingting Liu, Jianwen Wang, Lele Sun, Xuechao Chen, Yongxia Liu, Xianmei Lu, Hong Liu, Yonghu Sun & Furen Zhang

Authors
  1. Qianqian Xia
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  2. Tingting Liu
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  3. Jianwen Wang
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  4. Lele Sun
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  5. Xuechao Chen
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  6. Yongxia Liu
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  7. Xianmei Lu
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  8. Hong Liu
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  9. Yonghu Sun
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  10. Furen Zhang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yonghu Sun.

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Acknowledgements and dislosures

Acknowledgements: we thank all the participants involved in this study. This work was supported by the Taishan Scholars Program of Shandong Province (tsqn201909141), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82073441 & 81502736 & 81874244), the Clinical Innovation Project of Jinan, Shandong Provincial Key research and development program (2019RKC03002), Shandong Provincial Youth Science and Technology Talents Support Plan, and the Academic promotion programme of Shandong First Medical University. Conflicts of interest: none.

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Xia, Q., Liu, T., Wang, J. et al. Mast cells and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) expression positively correlates with pruritus intensity in dermatitis herpetiformis. Eur J Dermatol 30, 499–504 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1684/ejd.2020.3881

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1684/ejd.2020.3881

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