Department of Dermatology, The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Dermatology, International University of Health and Welfare, Ichikawa, Japan.
J Dermatol. 2017 Dec;44(12):1392-1395. doi: 10.1111/1346-8138.13974. Epub 2017 Jul 17.
Endocan is a novel human endothelial cell-specific molecule and is mainly expressed in endothelial cells in various tissues. Endocan has the capacity to inhibit leukocytes binding to the vascular endothelium. It also can promote the angiogenesis alongside vascular endothelial growth factor A. Through these functions, endocan has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory diseases. To investigate the possible roles of endocan in atopic dermatitis (AD), we examined endocan expression in lesional skin and sera in patients with AD. Endocan mRNA and protein levels were increased in lesional skin of AD compared with healthy skin and endocan was expressed on epidermal keratinocytes and dermal endothelial cells. On the other hand, serum endocan levels in patients with AD were significantly lower than those in healthy controls. Our results suggest that elevated endocan expression in lesional skin may be associated with development of AD through angiogenesis and that decreased endocan expression in sera may be associated with increased leukocyte recruitment in AD.
内皮细胞蛋白聚糖是一种新型的人内皮细胞特异性分子，主要在内皮细胞中表达。内皮细胞蛋白聚糖具有抑制白细胞与血管内皮结合的能力。它还可以与血管内皮生长因子 A 共同促进血管生成。通过这些功能，内皮细胞蛋白聚糖参与了各种炎症性疾病的发病机制。为了研究内皮细胞蛋白聚糖在特应性皮炎 (AD) 中的可能作用，我们检测了 AD 患者皮损皮肤和血清中的内皮细胞蛋白聚糖表达。与健康皮肤相比，AD 皮损皮肤中的内皮细胞蛋白聚糖 mRNA 和蛋白水平升高，内皮细胞蛋白聚糖在内皮细胞和成纤维细胞上表达。另一方面，AD 患者血清中的内皮细胞蛋白聚糖水平明显低于健康对照组。我们的研究结果表明，皮损皮肤中内皮细胞蛋白聚糖的高表达可能通过血管生成与 AD 的发展有关，而血清中内皮细胞蛋白聚糖的低表达可能与 AD 中白细胞募集增加有关。
