Kim Young-Won, Zhou Tong, Ko Eun-A, Kim Seongtae, Lee Donghee, Seo Yelim, Kwon Nahee, Choi Taeyeon, Lim Heejung, Cho Sungvin, Bae Gwanhui, Hwang Yuseong, Kim Dojin, Park Hyewon, Lee Minjae, Jang Eunkyung, Choi Jeongyoon, Bae Hyemi, Lim Inja, Bang Hyoweon, Ko Jae-Hong
Department of Physiology, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul 06974, Korea.
Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
Korean J Physiol Pharmacol. 2019 Mar;23(2):151-159. doi: 10.4196/kjpp.2019.23.2.151. Epub 2019 Feb 15.
Pruritus (itching) is classically defined as an unpleasant cutaneous sensation that leads to scratching behavior. Although the scientific criteria of classification for pruritic diseases are not clear, it can be divided as acute or chronic by duration of symptoms. In this study, we investigated whether skin injury caused by chemical (contact hypersensitivity, CHS) or physical (skin-scratching stimulation, SSS) stimuli causes initial pruritus and analyzed gene expression profiles systemically to determine how changes in skin gene expression in the affected area are related to itching. In both CHS and SSS, we ranked the Gene Ontology Biological Process terms that are generally associated with changes. The factors associated with upregulation were keratinization, inflammatory response and neutrophil chemotaxis. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway shows the difference of immune system, cell growth and death, signaling molecules and interactions, and signal transduction pathways. , and were upregulated in the CHS, and , , , and were upregulated in the SSS. channel genes were observed in representative itching-related candidate genes. By comparing and analyzing RNA-sequencing data obtained from the skin tissue of each animal model in these characteristic stages, it is possible to find useful diagnostic markers for the treatment of itching, to diagnose itching causes and to apply customized treatment.
