Premium
Increased circulating Th17 frequencies and serum IL‐22 levels in patients with acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis
Author(s) -
Kabashima R,
Sugita K,
Sawada Y,
Hino R,
Nakamura M,
Tokura Y
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of the european academy of dermatology and venereology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.655
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1468-3083
pISSN - 0926-9959
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-3083.2010.03771.x
Subject(s) - medicine , acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis , cytokine , pathogenesis , immunology , flow cytometry , interleukin 17 , interleukin , interleukin 22 , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , intertriginous , epidermis (zoology) , erythema , pathology , biology , in vitro , biochemistry , disease , anatomy
Background/Objective Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP) is a diffuse pustular disorder that usually begins in intertriginous folds with widespread erythema. The causes in the majority of the cases are drugs. T cells and interleukin (IL)‐8 play roles in the development of AGEP, but the mechanism remains to be elucidated. We investigated the involvement of Th17 cells and their cytokine IL‐22 in the pathogenesis. Methods Three patients with AGEP were enrolled in this study. The percentages of IL‐17 + Th17 cells, interferon γ + T cells and IL‐4 + T cells were measured in the patients’ peripheral blood lymphocytes by intracellular cytokine staining and flow cytometry. The concentration of IL‐22 in the sera was measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Results The percentages of Th17 cells were markedly higher in all three patients than healthy control individuals. The frequencies of interferon γ + T cells were slightly high in the patients compared with the control, and there was no definite tendency in IL‐4 + T‐cell frequencies. The concentration of IL‐22 was remarkably high in all patients when compared with normal subjects with levels under detection. Conclusion Th17 cells and their produced cytokine IL‐22 were elevated in the peripheral blood of patients with AGEP. As IL‐17 and IL‐22 cooperatively stimulate keratinocytes to produce IL‐8, IL‐8 may contribute to the accumulation of neutrophils in the lesional epidermis of AGEP.