Cytokine RNA In Situ Hybridization Permits Individualized Molecular Phenotyping in Biopsies of Psoriasis and Atopic Dermatitis

Alice Wang; Alexander L Fogel; Michael J Murphy; Gauri Panse; Meaghan K McGeary; Jennifer M McNiff; Marcus Bosenberg; Matthew D Vesely; Jeffrey M Cohen; Christine J Ko; Brett A King; William Damsky

doi:10.1016/j.xjidi.2021.100021

Cytokine RNA In Situ Hybridization Permits Individualized Molecular Phenotyping in Biopsies of Psoriasis and Atopic Dermatitis

JID Innov. 2021 May 7;1(2):100021. doi: 10.1016/j.xjidi.2021.100021. eCollection 2021 Jun.

Authors

Alice Wang¹, Alexander L Fogel¹, Michael J Murphy¹, Gauri Panse^{1

2}, Meaghan K McGeary², Jennifer M McNiff^{1

2}, Marcus Bosenberg^{1

2

3}, Matthew D Vesely¹, Jeffrey M Cohen¹, Christine J Ko^{1

2}, Brett A King¹, William Damsky^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
² Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
³ Department of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Abstract

Detection of individual cytokines in routine biopsies from patients with inflammatory skin diseases has the potential to personalize diagnosis and treatment selection, but this approach has been limited by technical feasibility. We evaluate whether a chromogen-based RNA in situ hybridization approach can be used to detect druggable cytokines in psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. A series of psoriasis (n = 20) and atopic dermatitis (n = 26) biopsies were stained using RNA in situ hybridization for IL4, IL12B (IL-12/23 p40), IL13, IL17A, IL17F, IL22, IL23A (IL-23 p19), IL31, and TNF (TNF-α). NOS2 and IFNG, canonical psoriasis biomarkers, were also included. All 20 of the psoriasis cases were positive for IL17A, which tended to be the predominant cytokine, although some cases had relatively higher levels of IL12B, IL17F, or IL23A. The majority of cytokine expression in psoriasis was epidermal. A total of 22 of 26 atopic dermatitis cases were positive for IL13, also at varying levels; a subset of cases had significant IL4, IL22, or IL31 expression. Patterns were validated in independent bulk RNA-sequencing and single-cell RNA-sequencing datasets. Overall, RNA in situ hybridization for cytokines appears highly specific with virtually no background staining and may allow for individualized evaluation of treatment-relevant cytokine targets in biopsies from patients with inflammatory skin disorders.

Keywords: AD, atopic dermatitis; Cat, catalog; DC, dendritic cell; IHC, immunohistochemistry; ILC, innate lymphoid cell; KC, keratinocyte; LC, Langerhans cell; RISH, RNA in situ hybridization; RNA-seq, RNA sequencing; scRNA-seq, single-cell RNA sequencing.

Abstract

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