Causal Relationship and Shared Genetic Loci between Psoriasis and Type 2 Diabetes through Trans-Disease Meta-Analysis

Are periodontitis and psoriasis associated? A pre-clinical murine model

AIM

To investigate the bidirectional influence between periodontitis and psoriasis, using the respective experimental models of ligature- and imiquimod-induced diseases on murine models.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirty-two C57/BL6J mice were randomly allocated to four experimental groups: control (P- Pso-), ligature-induced periodontitis (P+ Pso-), imiquimod-induced psoriasis (P- Pso+) and periodontitis and psoriasis (P+ Pso+). Samples (maxilla, dorsal skin and blood) were harvested immediately after death. Measures of periodontitis (distance between the cemento-enamel junction and alveolar bone crest [CEJ-ABC] and the number of osteoclasts) and psoriasis (epidermal thickness and infiltrate cell [/0.03mm2]) severity as well as systemic inflammation (IL-6, IL-17A, TNF-α) were collected.

RESULTS

The P+ Pso+ group exhibited the most severe experimental periodontitis and psoriasis, with the highest values of CEJ-ABC, number of osteoclasts, epidermal thickness and infiltrate cells in the dorsal skin, as well as the highest blood cytokine concentration. The P+ Pso- group presented with higher cell infiltrate (/0.03mm2) compared to the control group (p <.05), while the P- Pso+ group showed substantially higher alveolar bone loss (CEJ-ABC) than the control group (p <.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Experimental periodontitis may initiate and maintain psoriasiform skin inflammation and, vice versa, experimental psoriasis may contribute to the onset of periodontitis. In a combined model of the diseases, we propose a bidirectional association between periodontitis and psoriasis via systemic inflammation.

Causal association between psoriasis vulgaris and bullous pemphigoid: a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization study

Background

The association between psoriasis vulgaris and bullous pemphigoid (BP) remains largely unknown.

Objectives

To investigate whether there is a causal effect between psoriasis vulgaris and BP.

Methods

Two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were conducted using publicly released genome-wide association studies (GWAS) summary statistics. The GWAS summary statistics for BP were downloaded online from FinnGen Biobank Documentation of the R12 release, which includes 219 BP cases and 218,066 controls. The GWAS data for psoriasis vulgaris were extracted from Sakaue et al., which comprises 5072 cases and 478,102 controls. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with exposure were selected as instrumental variables by performing additional quality control steps. The inverse-variance-weighted (IVW) method was used for the primary MR analyses, and the MR-Egger regression, weighted mode method, weighted median method, and simple mode were employed for sensitivity analyses. The MR-Egger intercept test and "leave-one-out" sensitivity analysis were performed to evaluate the horizontal pleiotropy and the potentially influential SNPs, respectively.

Results

Genetically determined log odds of psoriasis vulgaris were associated with an increased risk of BP (IVW: odds ratio (OR) = 1.263, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.013-1.575, P=0.038). Sensitivity analyses by the weighted mode (OR=1.255, 95%CI: 0.973-1.618, P=0.106), MR Egger (OR=1.315, 95%CI: 0.951-1.817, P=0.126), simple mode (OR=1.414, 95%CI: 0.823-2.429, P=0.234) and weighted median method (OR=1.177, 95%CI: 0.889-1.559, P=0.254) derived directionally consistent relationship between the genetically predicted log odds of psoriasis vulgaris and risks of developing BP. On the contrary, we found that genetically predicted BP had no significant effect on psoriasis vulgaris (IVW: OR=0.996, P= 0.707), indicating the unidirectionality of the relationship. MR-Egger intercept tests showed no evidence of horizontal pleiotropy. No influential SNP driving the results was detected by the leave-one-out sensitivity analysis.

Conclusions

Our results suggested that psoriasis vulgaris causally increases the risk of BP, highlighting the need for potential strategies for the prevention and early diagnosis of comorbid BP in patients with psoriasis vulgaris. Further researches into this association and underlying mechanisms are warranted.

Exploration of the causality of frailty index on psoriasis: A Mendelian randomization study

BACKGROUND

Frailty is associated with a variety of diseases, but the relationship between frailty and psoriasis remains unclear.

METHODS

First, we conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization based on genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to investigate genetic causality between frailty index and common diseases in dermatology. Inverse variance weighted was used to estimate causality. Second, expression quantitative trait locus (eQTLs) analysis was conducted to identify the genes affected by Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Third, we performed function and pathway enrichment, transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) analysis based on eQTLs.

RESULTS

It was shown that the rise of frailty index could increase the risk of psoriasis (IVW, beta = 0.916, OR = 2.500, 95%CI:1.418-4.408, p = 0.002) through Mendelian randomization (MR), and there was no heterogeneity and pleiotropy. There was no causality between the frailty index and other common diseases in dermatology. We found 31 eQTLs based on strongly correlated SNPs in the causality. TWAS analysis found that the expressions of four genes were closely related to psoriasis, including HLA-DQA1, HLA-DQA2, HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1.

CONCLUSION

It suggested that the frailty index had a significant positive causality on the risk of psoriasis, which was well documented by combined genomic, transcriptome, and proteome analyses.

Assessment of relationships between bullous pemphigoid and neurological diseases: A bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is the most prevalent autoimmune vesiculobullous skin illness that tends to affect the elderly. Growing evidence has hinted a correlation between BP and neurological diseases. However, existing observational studies contained inconsistent results, and the causality and direction of their relationship remain poorly understood. To assess the causal relationship between BP and neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's disease (PD), and stroke. A bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) adopted independent top genetic variants as instruments from the largest accessible genome-wide association studies (GWASs), with BP (n = 218 348), PD (n = 482 730), AD (n = 63 926), stroke (n = 446 696), and MS (n = 115 803). Inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, weighted mode methods, weighted median, and simple mode were performed to explore the causal association. Multiple sensitivity analyses, MR-Pleiotropy Residual Sum and Outlier (PRESSO) was used to evaluate horizontal pleiotropy and remove outliers. With close-to-zero effect estimates, no causal impact of BP on the risk of the four neurological diseases was discovered. However, we found that MS was positively correlated with higher odds of BP (OR = 1.220, 95% CI: 1.058-1.408, p = 0.006), while no causal associations were observed between PD (OR = 0.821, 95% CI: 0.616-1.093, p = 0.176), AD (OR = 1.066, 95% CI: 0.873-1.358, p = 0.603), stroke (OR = 0.911, 95% CI: 0.485-1.713, p = 0.773) and odds of BP. In summary, no causal impact of BP on the risk of PD, AD, MS and stroke was detected in our MR analysis. However, reverse MR analysis identified that only MS was positively correlated with higher odds of BP, but not PD, AD and stroke.

Exploring the molecular mechanism underlying the psoriasis and T2D by using microarray data analysis

Although a large number of evidence has identified that psoriasis is significantly correlated with type 2 diabetes (T2D), the common molecular mechanism of its occurrence remains unclear. Our study aims to further elucidate the mechanism of the occurrence of this complication. We obtained the gene expression data of psoriasis (GSE30999) and T2D (GSE28829) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset. Then the common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of T2D and psoriasis were identified. After that, we performed three types of analyses about these DEGs, including functional enrichment analysis, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and module manufacture, hub genes identification and co-expression analysis. 132 common DEGs (14 upregulated genes and 118 downregulated genes) were identified for subsequent a series of analyses. Function enrichment analysis demonstrated that Rap1 signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and cGMP-PKG signaling pathway may play a significant role in pathogenesis of psoriasis and T2D. Finally, 3 important hub genes were selected by utilizing cytoHubba, including SNRPN, GNAS, IGF2. Our work reveals the potential common signaling pathways of psoriasis and T2D. These Hub genes and common signaling pathways provide insights for further investigation of molecular mechanism about psoriasis and T2D.

The Association of Psoriasis, Diabetes Mellitus, and Hypertension: A Meta-Analysis

Psoriasis is a systemic disease affecting various organs; however, it is usually thought of as a skin disease. A multidisciplinary approach is needed for better outcomes. The current meta-analysis assessed the association between diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, and psoriasis. We searched four databases, including Cochrane Library, PubMed, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar, for relevant articles using the following keywords: psoriasis, hypertension, high blood pressure, cardiovascular risk factors, and diabetes mellitus. The author's name, year, and country of publication, diabetes, and hypertension among patients with psoriasis and control subjects were collected and entered into a Microsoft Excel sheet. Out of 1209 articles retrieved, 903 articles remained after duplication removal. From the 82 full texts screened, only seven studies fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Psoriasis was associated with diabetes and hypertension: odds ratio 1.38, 95% CI 1.17-1.64; P-value 0.0002, chi-square 224.93, and odds ratio 1.60, 95% CI 1.41-1.81, P-value 0.00001, chi-square 226.59, respectively. Substantial heterogeneity was observed (I2 for heterogeneity, 97%, P < 0.001). A broad approach is needed to address the associated comorbidities and select the appropriate therapeutic approach. Randomized controlled trials investigating the best drugs for the treatment of psoriasis and its associated cardiovascular risk factors are needed.

Site-Specifically Launched Microneedles for the Combined Treatment of Psoriasis-Diabetic Comorbidity

Psoriasis and diabetes are both common comorbidities for each other, where inflammation and insulin resistance act in a vicious cycle, driving the progression of disease through the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway. Therefore, disrupting the linkage between inflammation and insulin resistance by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway presents a promising therapeutic strategy for addressing psoriasis-diabetic comorbidity. Herein, an open-loop therapy was developed by integrating microneedle-mediated short- and long-range missiles to target psoriasis and diabetes, respectively. The short-range missile (curcumin nanoparticle) could be stationed in the psoriatic skin for topical and prolonged antipsoriasis therapy, while the long-range missile (metformin) is capable of penetrating transdermal barriers to induce a systemic hypoglycemic effect. More attractively, the short- and long-range missiles could join hands to inhibit the NF-κB signaling pathway and diminish inflammation, effectively disrupting the crosstalk between inflammation and insulin resistance. Pharmacodynamic studies showed that this microneedle-mediated combination, possessing dual anti-inflammatory and antihyperglycemic properties, proves to be highly efficacious in alleviating typical symptoms and inflammatory response in both nondiabetic and diabetic mice with imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis models. Hence, the microneedle-mediated open-loop therapy shows great potential in the management of psoriasis-diabetes comorbidity.

Disentangling the complexity of psoriasis in the post-genome-wide association era

In recent years, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been instrumental in unraveling the genetic architecture of complex diseases, including psoriasis. The application of large-scale GWA studies in psoriasis has illustrated several associated loci that participate in the cutaneous inflammation, however explaining a fraction of the disease heritability. With the advent of high-throughput sequencing technologies and functional genomics approaches, the post-GWAS era aims to unravel the functional mechanisms underlying the inter-individual variability in psoriasis patients. In this review, we present the key advances of psoriasis GWAS in under-represented populations, rare, non-coding and structural variants and epistatic phenomena that orchestrate the interplay between different cell types. We further review the gene-gene and gene-environment interactions contributing to the disease predisposition and development of comorbidities through Mendelian randomization studies and pleiotropic effects of psoriasis-associated loci. We finally examine the holistic approaches conducted in psoriasis through system genetics and state-of-the-art transcriptomic analyses, discussing their potential implication in the expanding field of precision medicine and characterization of comorbidities.

Proteomics analysis of lung tissue reveals protein makers for the lung injury of adjuvant arthritis rats

Lung injury is one of the common extra‑articular lesions in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Due to its insidious onset and no obvious clinical symptoms, it can be easily dismissed in the early stage of diagnosis, which is one of the reasons that leads to a decline of the quality of life and subsequent death of patients with RA. However, its pathogenesis is still unclear and there is a lack of effective therapeutic targets. In the present study, tandem mass tag‑labeled proteomics was used to research the lung tissue proteins in RA model (adjuvant arthritis, AA) rats that had secondary lung injury. The aim of the present study was to identify the differentially expressed proteins related to RA‑lung injury, determine their potential role in the pathogenesis of RA‑lung injury and provide potential targets for clinical treatment. Lung tissue samples were collected from AA‑lung injury and normal rats. The differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified by tandem mass spectrometry. Bioinformatic analysis was used to assess the biological processes and signaling pathways associated with these DEPs. A total of 310 DEPs were found, of which 244 were upregulated and 66 were downregulated. KEGG anlysis showed that 'fatty acid degradation', 'fatty acid metabolism', 'fatty acid elongation', 'complement and coagulation cascades', 'peroxisome proliferator‑activated receptor signaling pathway' and 'hypoxia‑inducible factor signaling pathway' were significantly upregulated in the lung tissues of AA‑lung injury. Immunofluorescence staining confirmed the increased expression of clusterin, serine protease inhibitors and complement 1qc in lung tissue of rats with AA lung injury. In the present study, the results revealed the significance of certain DEPs (for example, C9, C1qc and Clu) in the occurrence and development of RA‑lung injury and provided support through experiments to identify potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis and prevention of RA‑lung injury.

Disease modification in inflammatory skin disorders: opportunities and challenges

Progress in understanding of the mechanisms underlying chronic inflammatory skin disorders, such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis vulgaris, has led to new treatment options with the primary goal of alleviating symptoms. In addition, this knowledge has the potential to inform on new strategies aimed at inducing deep and therapy-free remission, that is, disease modification, potentially impacting on associated comorbidities. However, to reach this goal, key areas require further exploration, including the definitions of disease modification and disease activity index, further understanding of disease mechanisms and systemic spillover effects, potential windows of opportunity, biomarkers for patient stratification and successful intervention, as well as appropriate study design. This Perspective article assesses the opportunities and challenges in the discovery and development of disease-modifying therapies for chronic inflammatory skin disorders.

Shared Genetic Risk Factors for Multiple Sclerosis/Psoriasis Suggest Involvement of Interleukin-17 and Janus Kinase-Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription Signaling

OBJECTIVE

Psoriasis and multiple sclerosis (MS) are complex immune diseases that are mediated by T cells and share multiple comorbidities. Previous studies have suggested psoriatic patients are at higher risk of MS; however, causal relationships between the two conditions remain unclear. Through epidemiology and genetics, we provide a comprehensive understanding of the relationship, and share molecular factors between psoriasis and MS.

METHODS

We used logistic regression, trans-disease meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization. Medical claims data were included from 30 million patients, including 141,544 with MS and 742,919 with psoriasis. We used genome-wide association study summary statistics from 11,024 psoriatic, 14,802 MS cases, and 43,039 controls for trans-disease meta-analysis, with additional summary statistics from 5 million individuals for Mendelian randomization.

RESULTS

Psoriatic patients have a significantly higher risk of MS (4,637 patients with both diseases; odds ratio [OR] 1.07, p = 1.2 × 10-5 ) after controlling for potential confounders. Using inverse variance and equally weighted trans-disease meta-analysis, we revealed >20 shared and opposing (direction of effect) genetic loci outside the major histocompatibility complex that showed significant genetic colocalization (in COLOC and COLOC-SuSiE v5.1.0). Co-expression analysis of genes from these loci further identified distinct clusters that were enriched among pathways for interleukin-17/tumor necrosis factor-α (OR >39, p < 1.6 × 10-3 ) and Janus kinase-signal transducers and activators of transcription (OR 35, p = 1.1 × 10-5 ), including genes, such as TNFAIP3, TYK2, and TNFRSF1A. Mendelian randomization found psoriasis as an exposure has a significant causal effect on MS (OR 1.04, p = 5.8 × 10-3 ), independent of type 1 diabetes (OR 1.05, p = 4.3 × 10-7 ), type 2 diabetes (OR 1.08, p = 2.3 × 10-3 ), inflammatory bowel disease (OR 1.11, p = 1.6 × 10-11 ), and vitamin D level (OR 0.75, p = 9.4 × 10-3 ).

INTERPRETATION

By investigating the shared genetics of psoriasis and MS, along with their modifiable risk factors, our findings will advance innovations in treatment for patients suffering from comorbidities. ANN NEUROL 2023;94:384-397.

Whole-Exome Sequencing in Family Trios Reveals De Novo Mutations Associated with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by insulin deficiency and loss of pancreatic islet β-cells. The objective of this study is to identify de novo mutations in 13 trios from singleton families that contribute to the genetic basis of T1DM through the application of whole-exome sequencing (WES). Of the 13 families sampled for this project, 12 had de novo variants, with Family 7 having the highest number (nine) of variants linked to T1DM/autoimmune pathways, whilst Family 4 did not have any variants past the filtering steps. There were 10 variants of 7 genes reportedly associated with T1DM (MST1; TDG; TYRO3; IFIHI; GLIS3; VEGFA; TYK2). There were 20 variants of 13 genes that were linked to endocrine, metabolic, or autoimmune diseases. Our findings demonstrate that trio-based WES is a powerful approach for identifying new candidate genes for the pathogenesis of T1D. Genotyping and functional annotation of the discovered de novo variants in a large cohort is recommended to ascertain their association with disease pathogenesis.

Multitrait genome-wide analyses identify new susceptibility loci and candidate drugs to primary sclerosing cholangitis

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare autoimmune bile duct disease that is strongly associated with immune-mediated disorders. In this study, we implemented multitrait joint analyses to genome-wide association summary statistics of PSC and numerous clinical and epidemiological traits to estimate the genetic contribution of each trait and genetic correlations between traits and to identify new lead PSC risk-associated loci. We identified seven new loci that have not been previously reported and one new independent lead variant in the previously reported locus. Functional annotation and fine-mapping nominated several potential susceptibility genes such as MANBA and IRF5. Network-based in silico drug efficacy screening provided candidate agents for further study of pharmacological effect in PSC.

Mendelian Randomization Studies in Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis: A Systematic Review

Psoriasis (PSO) and psoriatic arthritis (PSA) are inflammatory diseases with complex genetic and environmental contributions. Although studies have identified environmental and clinical associations with PSO/PSA, causality is difficult to establish. Mendelian randomization (MR) employs the random assortment of genetic alleles at birth to evaluate the causal impact of exposures. We systematically reviewed 27 MR studies in PSO/PSA examining health behaviors, comorbidities, and biomarkers. Exposures, including smoking, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and Crohn's disease, were causal for PSO and PSA, whereas PSO was causally associated with several comorbidities. These findings provide insights that can guide preventive counseling and precision medicine.

Mendelian randomization study of the genetic interaction between psoriasis and celiac disease

Epidemiological studies have observed some relationship between psoriasis and celiac disease (CD), while the causal link between these 2 autoimmune diseases was unclear. In the current study, we aimed to explore the causal link between psoriasis and celiac disease with bidirectional 2-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) study. Eligible instrument variables (IVs) with genome-wide significance (p < 5E-08) were extracted from the summary-level datasets from the published genome-wide association studies (GWAS), which were conducted in the European population. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was performed as the main analysis, sensitivity analyses and post-MR analyses were also performed. Our MR analyses found that genetically doubling the odds of CD would increase the risk for psoriasis (p = 1.58e-03, OR [95% CI] 1.232 [1.061-1.432]). And the results were supported by sensitivity analyses. While we found that genetically determined psoriasis was not associated with the risk for CD (IVW: p = 0.985, OR [95% CI] 1.000 [0.965-1.037]). Our study provided novel genetic evidence that patients with CD were at an increased risk of developing psoriasis, while psoriasis was not associated with the risk for CD. Clinicians should be aware of the associations and pay attention to skin manifestations in patients with CD.

Shared genetic risk factors and causal association between psoriasis and coronary artery disease

Psoriasis and coronary artery disease (CAD) are related comorbidities that are well established, but whether a genetic basis underlies this is not well studied. We apply trans-disease meta-analysis to 11,024 psoriasis and 60,801 CAD cases, along with their associated controls, identifying one opposing and three shared genetic loci, which are confirmed through colocalization analysis. Combining results from Bayesian credible interval analysis with independent information from genomic, epigenomic, and spatial chromatin organization, we prioritize genes (including IFIH1 and IL23A) that have implications for common molecular mechanisms involved in psoriasis and CAD inflammatory signaling. Chronic systemic inflammation has been associated with CAD and myocardial infarction, and Mendelian randomization analysis finds that CAD as an exposure can have a significant causal effect on psoriasis (OR = 1.11; p = 3×10^-6) following adjustment for BMI and waist-hip ratio. Together, these findings suggest that systemic inflammation which causes CAD can increase the risk of psoriasis.

The Association Between Psoriasis and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: A Mendelian Randomization Analysis

Background

A large number of observational studies showed that patients with psoriasis have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but most studies did not fully adjust for confounding factors, so it is not clear whether the risk of CVD is directly attributed to psoriasis. We used Mendelian randomization (MR) to evaluate the potential causal relationship between psoriasis and CVD.

Methods

We used genetic instruments from the genome-wide association study (GWAS) of European descent for psoriasis to investigate its relationship with CVD. Inverse variance-weighted (IVW) MR analyses were used for the primary analysis. In addition, a variety of other methods were used to replicate the analysis.

Results

The fixed-effects IVW method indicated that genetic susceptibility to psoriasis was associated with a higher risk of heart failure (HF) [odds ratio (OR) = 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01–1.06, P = 2.72E-03], atrial fibrillation (AF) (OR = 1.04; 95% CI, 1.02–1.07, P = 3.27E-04), myocardial infarction (MI) (OR = 1.07; 95% CI, 1.01–1.12, P = 0.01), valvular heart disease (VHD) (OR = 1.001; 95% CI, 1.000–1.002, P = 1.85E-03), and large artery stroke (LAS) (OR = 1.11; 95% CI, 1.05–1.18, P = 5.37E-04) but not with the other two subtypes of ischemic stroke (IS) [cardioembolic stroke (CES) (OR = 1.03; 95% CI, 0.98–1.07, P = 0.27) and small vessel stroke (SVS) (OR = 1.00; 95% CI, 0.95–1.07), P = 0.88)]. Sensitivity analysis found weak evidence of horizontal diversity and heterogeneity to ensure the stability of the results.

Conclusion

Our study provided evidence for a potential causal link between psoriasis and CVD. These findings partly suggest that early monitoring of cardiovascular risk in patients with psoriasis is intentional.

Break on through: The role of innate immunity and barrier defence in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis

The human skin can be affected by a multitude of diseases including inflammatory conditions such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. Here, we describe how skin barrier integrity and immunity become dysregulated during these two most common inflammatory skin conditions. We summarise recent advances made in the field of the skin innate immune system and its interaction with adaptive immunity. We review gene variants associated with atopic dermatitis and psoriasis that affect innate immune mechanisms and skin barrier integrity. Finally, we discuss how current and future therapies may affect innate immune responses and skin barrier integrity in a generalized or more targeted approach in order to ameliorate disease in patients.

Structural mechanism of TRPV3 channel inhibition by the anesthetic dyclonine

Skin diseases are common human illnesses that occur in all cultures, at all ages, and affect between 30% and 70% of individuals globally. TRPV3 is a cation-permeable TRP channel predominantly expressed in skin keratinocytes, implicated in cutaneous sensation and associated with numerous skin diseases. TRPV3 is inhibited by the local anesthetic dyclonine, traditionally used for topical applications to relieve pain and itch. However, the structural basis of TRPV3 inhibition by dyclonine has remained elusive. Here we present a cryo-EM structure of a TRPV3-dyclonine complex that reveals binding of the inhibitor in the portals which connect the membrane environment surrounding the channel to the central cavity of the channel pore. We propose a mechanism of TRPV3 inhibition in which dyclonine molecules stick out into the channel pore, creating a barrier for ion conductance. The allosteric binding site of dyclonine can serve as a template for the design of new TRPV3-targeting drugs.

Roles Played by Stress-Induced Pathways in Driving Ethnic Heterogeneity for Inflammatory Skin Diseases

Immune-mediated skin conditions (IMSCs) are a diverse group of autoimmune diseases associated with significant disease burden. Atopic dermatitis and psoriasis are among the most common IMSCs in the United States and have disproportionate impact on racial and ethnic minorities. African American patients are more likely to develop atopic dermatitis compared to their European American counterparts; and despite lower prevalence of psoriasis among this group, African American patients can suffer from more extensive disease involvement, significant post-inflammatory changes, and a decreased quality of life. While recent studies have been focused on understanding the heterogeneity underlying disease mechanisms and genetic factors at play, little emphasis has been put on the effect of psychosocial or psychological stress on immune pathways, and how these factors contribute to differences in clinical severity, prevalence, and treatment response across ethnic groups. In this review, we explore the heterogeneity of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis between African American and European American patients by summarizing epidemiological studies, addressing potential molecular and environmental factors, with a focus on the intersection between stress and inflammatory pathways.

Psoriasis and metabolic syndrome: implications for the management and treatment of psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disorder associated with several comorbidities in addition to the characteristic skin lesions. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is the most frequent comorbidity in psoriasis and a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, a major cause of death among patients with psoriasis. Although the exact causal relationship between these two disorders is not fully established, the underlying pathophysiology linking psoriasis and MetS seems to involve overlapping genetic predispositions and inflammatory pathways. Dysregulation of the IL‐23/Th‐17 immune signalling pathway is central to both pathologies and may be key to promoting susceptibility to metabolic and cardiovascular diseases in individuals with and without psoriasis. Thus, biological treatments for psoriasis that interrupt these signals could both reduce the psoriatic inflammatory burden and also lessen the risk of developing atherosclerosis and cardiometabolic diseases. In support of this hypothesis, improvement of skin lesions was associated with improvement in vascular inflammation in recent imaging studies, demonstrating that the beneficial effect of biological agents goes beyond the skin and could help to prevent cardiovascular disease. This review will summarize current knowledge on underlying inflammatory mechanisms shared between psoriasis and MetS and discuss the most recent clinical evidence for the potential for psoriasis treatment to reduce cardiovascular risk.

Data Mining and Meta-Analysis of Psoriasis Based on Association Rules

Psoriasis is a common chronic and recurrent disease in dermatology, which has a great impact on the physical and mental health of patients. Meta-analysis can evaluate the effectiveness and safety of defubao in the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris. This article observes psoriasis skin lesions treated with topical defubao and the changes in blood vessels under dermoscopy. Considering that the Apriori algorithm and the existing improved algorithm have the problems of ignoring the weight and repeatedly scanning the database, this paper proposes a matrix association rule method based on random forest weighting. This method uses the random forest algorithm to assign weights to each item in the data set, and introduces matrix theory to convert the transaction data set into a matrix form and store it, thereby improving operating efficiency. This article included 11 studies, of which 7 studies used the indicator "Researcher's Overall Assessment" (IGA) to evaluate the efficacy, 5 studies used the "Patient Overall Assessment" (PGA) as the efficacy evaluation index, and Loss Area and Severity Index (PASI) was used as an observation index to evaluate the efficacy. Seven studies conducted safety comparisons. In this paper, IGA and PGA were used as evaluation indicators. The treatment effect of the defubao group was better than the calcipotriol group and the betamethasone group. The differences were statistically significant. The effect of the Fubao treatment for 8 weeks is significantly better than that of 4 weeks and 2 weeks, and the differences are statistically different. Using PASI as the evaluation index, a descriptive study was carried out, and it was found that after 4 weeks of treatment for psoriasis vulgaris, the average PASI reduction rate of patients was higher than that of the calcipotriol group and the betamethasone group. The safety evaluation found that after 8 weeks of treatment, the incidence of adverse events in the defubao group was significantly lower than that in the calcipotriol group.

Integrating Multimorbidity into a Whole-Body Understanding of Disease Using Spatial Genomics

Multimorbidity is characterized by multidimensional complexity emerging from interactions between multiple diseases across levels of biological (including genetic) and environmental determinants and the complex array of interactions between and within cells, tissues and organ systems. Advances in spatial genomic research have led to an unprecedented expansion in our ability to link alterations in genome folding with changes that are associated with human disease. Studying disease-associated genetic variants in the context of the spatial genome has enabled the discovery of transcriptional regulatory programmes that potentially link dysregulated genes to disease development. However, the approaches that have been used have typically been applied to uncover pathological molecular mechanisms occurring in a specific disease-relevant tissue. These forms of reductionist, targeted investigations are not appropriate for the molecular dissection of multimorbidity that typically involves contributions from multiple tissues. In this perspective, we emphasize the importance of a whole-body understanding of multimorbidity and discuss how spatial genomics, when integrated with additional omic datasets, could provide novel insights into the molecular underpinnings of multimorbidity.

Transcriptome and Literature Mining Highlight the Differential Expression of ERLIN1 in Immune Cells during Sepsis

Sepsis results from the dysregulation of the host immune system. This highly variable disease affects 19 million people globally, and accounts for 5 million deaths annually. In transcriptomic datasets curated from public repositories, we observed a consistent upregulation (3.26-5.29 fold) of ERLIN1-a gene coding for an ER membrane prohibitin and a regulator of inositol 1, 4, 5-trisphosphate receptors and sterol regulatory element-binding proteins-under septic conditions in healthy neutrophils, monocytes, and whole blood. In vitro expression of the ERLIN1 gene and proteins was measured by stimulating the whole blood of healthy volunteers to a combination of lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan. Septic stimulation induced a significant increase in ERLIN1 expression; however, ERLIN1 was differentially expressed among the immune blood cell subsets. ERLIN1 was uniquely increased in whole blood neutrophils, and confirmed in the differentiated HL60 cell line. The scarcity of ERLIN1 in sepsis literature indicates a knowledge gap between the functions of ERLIN1, calcium homeostasis, and cholesterol and fatty acid biosynthesis, and sepsis. In combination with experimental data, we bring forth the hypothesis that ERLIN1 is variably modulated among immune cells in response to cellular perturbations, and has implications for ER functions and/or ER membrane protein components during sepsis.