1. Academic Validation
  2. Decrease of galectin-3 in keratinocytes: A potential diagnostic marker and a critical contributor to the pathogenesis of psoriasis

Decrease of galectin-3 in keratinocytes: A potential diagnostic marker and a critical contributor to the pathogenesis of psoriasis

  • J Autoimmun. 2018 May;89:30-40. doi: 10.1016/j.jaut.2017.11.002.
Zhen-Rui Shi 1 Guo-Zhen Tan 1 Cui-Xiang Cao 2 Yan-Fang Han 1 Zhen Meng 1 Xiao-Yong Man 3 Ze-Xin Jiang 1 Yu-Ping Zhang 1 Ning-Ning Dang 4 Kai-Hua Wei 5 Ding-Fang Bu 6 Fu-Tong Liu 7 Liangchun Wang 8
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510120, China.
  • 2 Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510120, China; Department of Dermatology, Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital, Guangzhou 510220, China.
  • 3 Department of Dermatology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China.
  • 4 Department of Dermatology, Jinan Central Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250013, China.
  • 5 State Key Lab of Proteome, Beijing Proteome Research Center, Beijing 102206, China.
  • 6 Central Laboratory, Peking University First Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100034, China.
  • 7 Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
  • 8 Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510120, China. Electronic address: wliangch@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
Abstract

Psoriasis-specific proteins dysregulated in keratinocytes and involved in the pathophysiological process of psoriasis remains elusive. We report here that epidermal Galectin-3 expression is significantly downregulated in lesional skin, but not in non-lesional skin in psoriasis patients, nor in a group of diseases known as psoriasiform dermatitis clinically and histologically similar to psoriasis. The deficiency of epidermal Galectin-3 is sufficient to promote development of psoriatic lesions, as evidenced by more severe skin inflammation in Galectin-3 knockout (gal3-/-) mice, compared to wild-type mice, after imiquimod treatment, and in skin from gal3-/- mice grafted onto wildtype mice. The development of psoriatic-like lesions is attributable to 1) the spontaneously tuning up of psoriasis signatures in keratinocytes through JNK pathway; and 2) neutrophil accumulation caused by the enhanced leukocyte-recruiting capacity associated with overexpression of S100A7-9 and CXCL-1, 8 in keratinocytes with impaired Galectin-3 expression. Psoriasis-like skin inflammation is significantly improved in gal-3-/- mice both by inhibition of neutrophils accumulation with a selective CXCR2 Antagonist of SB225002, and by intracutaneous injection of recombinant Galectin-3. Overall, these findings offer promising galectin-3-related diagnostic and therapeutic resolutions of psoriasis.

Keywords

Galectin-3; Keratinocyte; Neutrophil; Pathogenesis; Psoriasis.

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