Major Differences in Expression of Inflammatory Pathways in Skin from Different Body Sites of Healthy Individuals
October 2019
in “
The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology
”
TLDR Different parts of the body have unique immune characteristics in their skin.
The study examined inflammatory pathways in skin from different body sites of 24 healthy individuals, using 48 biopsies. It found that the back had the highest expression of immune markers and cell densities, including Th2/Th17/Th22/Treg-related products, Langerhans cells, myeloid dendritic cells, and regulatory T cells, correlating with the highest hair follicle counts. These findings suggested that the back's unique immune environment might enhance the effectiveness of epicutaneous immunotherapy. The study highlighted the importance of understanding site-specific differences for optimizing skin sampling in research and clinical trials, despite limitations like small sample size and lack of diversity in age and ethnicity.
