CTGF,TGFβ1,PKD1 And PKD2 Expression In The Skin Of Early Systemic Sclerosis

BACKGROUND:Systemic sclerosis(SSc)is a systemic connective tissue disease characterized by fibrosis of the skin and/or other organs.It’s important to identify the characteristic of SSc in early stage,for the clinical characteristics of SSc are varied.The main problem of SSc is that extensive fibrosis leads to the loss of important organ functions.Therefore,It’s time to research on the mechanism of fibrosis and the treatment of anti-fibrosis.At present,kinds of cytokines,including connective tissue growth factor(CTGF)and transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1),have been considered to lead to the fibrosis in SSc.However,there are few infomation on SSc between different disease courses.In addition,protein kinase D1(PKD1)and protein kinase D2(PKD2)are consider to be associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transformation and fibrosis,but there is no report in SSc.AIMS:This study is to learn the clinical characteristics of early SSc,study skin structure and degree of fibrosis in SSc patients’s skin,and explore the characteristics of CTGF,TGF β1,PKD1 and PKD2 in the skin of early Systemic sclerosis.METHODS:1.A retrospective study was conducted to compare the clinical symptoms and laboratory results of SSc patients who were hospitalized in nanfang hospital from January 2017 to December 2019 and had a course of disease within 3 years in the early stage(course≤1 year)and later stage(1<course≤3 years).2.The morphology of skin and distribution of skin collagen of SSc at different stages were investigate by conventional HE staining and Masson staining.3.Double immunofluorescence staining was used to analyze the parts and amounts of TGFSMA,CTGF,TGF-TGF 1,PKD1 and PKD2 expressed in SSc skin at different periods.The immunofluorescence expression levels were calculated by Image J,and the data were statistically analyzed by SPSS 22.0 statistical.RESULTS:1、The number of mononuclear cells in initial SSc were higher than those in early SSc pations,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05),while the clinical symptoms and laboratory examinations to different without statistically significant(P>0.05).2、There were pigmentation of the epidermis,collagen deposition and fibroplasia,as well as infiltration with the inflammatory cells in derma in initial patients of SSc,after that the skin were atrophy,loss of the epidermal papillae,deposition collagen and decreased of dermal adnexa.Contents of collagen fibers in skin tissues were increased in SSc,especially at later.3、The levels of α-SMA,CTGF,PKD1 and PKD2 expression in skin were significantly increased in SSc patients compared with control group(P<0.05),meanwhile the TGF-β1 were significantly increased in early SSc(P<0.05).In addition,double positive results of CTGF,TGF-β1,PKD1,PKD2 and α-SMA were found in the dual immunofluorescence.CONCLUSION:1、The expression levels of CTGF,PKD1 and PKD2 in patients’skin of SSc were higher than those in the control group,suggesting that they may play a role in fibrosis.2、The expression of TGF-β1 in early SSc was higher than that in the control group and initial SSc,suggesting that TGF-β1 may continued to play a role in the process of fibrosis.3、Double positive results of CTGF,TGF-β1,PKD1,PKD2 and α-SMA were observed in result of immunofluorescence,suggesting that CTGF,TGF-β1,PKD1,PKD2 may play a role in SSc through myofibroblasts.