Cytokines and chemokines skin gene expression in correlation with immune cells in blood and severity in equine insect bite hypersensitivity.
Abstract: Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is the most frequent skin allergy of horses and is highly debilitating, especially in the chronic phase. IBH is caused by IgE-mediated hypersensitivity reactions to culicoides midge bites and an imbalanced immune response that reduces the welfare of affected horses. Unassigned: In the present study, we investigated the pathological mechanisms of IBH, aiming to understand the immune cell modulation in acute allergic skin lesions of IBH horses with the goal of finding possible biomarkers for a diagnostic approach to monitor treatment success. Unassigned: By qPCR, we quantified the gene expression of cytokines, chemokines, and immune receptors in skin punch biopsies of IBH with different severity levels and healthy horses simultaneously in tandem with the analysis of immune cell counts in the blood. Unassigned: Our data show an increase in blood eosinophils, monocytes, and basophils with a concomitant, significant increase in associated cytokine, chemokine, and immune cell receptor mRNA expression levels in the lesional skin of IBH horses. Moreover, IL-5Ra, CCR5, IFN-γ, and IL-31Ra were strongly associated with IBH severity, while IL-31 and IL-33 were rather associated with a milder form of IBH. In addition, our data show a strong correlation of basophil cell count in blood with IL-31Ra, IL-5, IL-5Ra, IFN-γ, HRH2, HRH4, CCR3, CCR5, IL-12b, IL-10, IL-1β, and CCL26 mRNA expression in skin punch biopsies of IBH horses. Unassigned: In summary, several cytokines and chemokines have been found to be associated with disease severity, hence contributing to IBH pathology. These molecules can be used as potential biomarkers to monitor the onset and progression of the disease or even to evaluate and monitor the efficacy of new therapeutic treatments for IBH skin allergy. To our knowledge, this is the first study that investigated immune cells together with a large set of genes related to their biological function, including correlation to disease severity, in a large cohort of healthy and IBH horses.
Copyright © 2024 Jebbawi, Chemnitzer, Dietrich, Pantelyushin, Lam, Rhiner, Keller, Waldern, Canonica and Fettelschoss-Gabriel.
Publication Date: 2024-07-15 PubMed ID: 39076967PubMed Central: PMC11284025DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1414891Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research article investigates how cytokines, chemokines and immune receptor gene expressions in horse skin affect the severity of insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH), a common allergic skin condition in horses. The study utilized a large cohort of healthy and IBH horses aiming to find potential markers to monitor the disease progression and treatment responses.
Research Purpose and Method
- The study aimed to investigate the pathological mechanisms of IBH in horses, specifically, how the immune cells modulate in acute allergic skin reactions.
- An additional goal was to identify potential biomarkers to monitor the success of treatment.
- The research team quantified the gene expression of cytokines, chemokines, and immune receptors in skin punch biopsies from IBH-affected horses and healthy ones.
- Alongside this, they conducted an analysis of immune cell counts in the subjects’ blood.
Findings
- The findings indicated an increase in blood eosinophils, monocytes, and basophils in IBH horses.
- This increase correlated with a significant increase in associated cytokine, chemokine, and immune cell receptor mRNA expression levels in the horses’ skin lesions.
- Further, the study identified IL-5Ra, CCR5, IFN-γ, and IL-31Ra that had a strong association with IBH severity.
- Il-31 and IL-33 were associated with milder forms of IBH.
- Research also revealed a strong correlation between the basophil cell count in blood and various gene expressions in the skin biopsies of IBH horses.
Implications
- Among the cytokines and chemokines studied, several contribute to IBH pathology, and their association with the disease severity can be used as potential biomarkers.
- These biomarkers could be used to monitor the onset and progression of the disease, and even to evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of novel therapeutic treatments for IBH skin allergy.
- According to the authors, this is the first study that has analyzed immune cells together with a large set of genes related to their biological function concerning disease severity in such a large cohort of healthy and IBH horses.
Cite This Article
APA
Jebbawi F, Chemnitzer A, Dietrich M, Pantelyushin S, Lam J, Rhiner T, Keller G, Waldern N, Canonica F, Fettelschoss-Gabriel A.
(2024).
Cytokines and chemokines skin gene expression in correlation with immune cells in blood and severity in equine insect bite hypersensitivity.
Front Immunol, 15, 1414891.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1414891 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland.
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Evax AG, Guntershausen, Switzerland.
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland.
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Evax AG, Guntershausen, Switzerland.
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland.
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland.
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Evax AG, Guntershausen, Switzerland.
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland.
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Evax AG, Guntershausen, Switzerland.
- Evax AG, Guntershausen, Switzerland.
- Equine Department, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland.
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Evax AG, Guntershausen, Switzerland.
- Evax AG, Guntershausen, Switzerland.
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland.
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Evax AG, Guntershausen, Switzerland.
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland.
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Evax AG, Guntershausen, Switzerland.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Horses
- Insect Bites and Stings / immunology
- Insect Bites and Stings / veterinary
- Cytokines
- Skin / immunology
- Skin / pathology
- Horse Diseases / immunology
- Chemokines / genetics
- Hypersensitivity / immunology
- Hypersensitivity / veterinary
- Severity of Illness Index
- Ceratopogonidae / immunology
- Male
- Female
- Biomarkers
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
References
This article includes 80 references
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