Abdolahzadeh Hadis, Mohammadi Parvaneh, Ghasemi Mahshid, Mousavi Seyed Ahmad, Bajouri Amir, Ataei-Fashtami Leila, Totonchi Mehdi, Rezvani Mohammad, Aghdami Nasser, Shafieyan Saeed
Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Basic Sciences and Advanced Technologies in Biology, University of Science and Culture, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
Cell J. 2022 Jun;24(6):316-322. doi: 10.22074/cellj.2022.7893. Epub 2022 Jun 29.
Autologous transplantation of epidermal cells has been used increasingly to treat vitiligo patients and is a simple, safe, and relatively efficient method. However, the outcome is not always satisfactory, and some patients show less or no response to this treatment. This study was evaluated to identify genes expressed differently among responders and non-responders to cell transplantation to find potential markers that could predict 'patients' responses to this type of cell therapy.
Eleven stable vitiligo patients who received autologous epidermal cell transplantation were included in this clinical trial study. Before cell transplantation, skin samples were obtained from the recipient's vitiligo lesions. After epidermal cell transplantation, patients were followed for at least six months to assess the response to epidermal cell injection. RNA sequencing was used to determine potential gene expression profile differences between responder and non-responder vitiligo patients.
The RNA sequencing results showed differences in expression levels of 470 genes between the skin specimens of responder versus non-responder patients. There were 269 up-regulated genes and 201 down-regulated genes. Upregulated genes were involved in processes, such as Fatty Acid Omega Oxidation. Down-regulated genes were related to PPAR signaling pathway, and estrogen signaling pathway. Among the most differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with the most altered RNA expression levels in responders versus non-responder patients, we selected three genes (up-regulated genes and down-regulated genes and ) as potential biomarkers, which are involved in associated pathways.
Based on our findings, it is estimated that proposed genes might predict the response of vitiligo patients to cell therapy. However, further studies are required to clarify the role of these genes in pathogenesis and to characterize gene expression in a larger number of vitiligo patients in the context of epidermal cell transplantation therapy (registration number: IRCT201508201031N16).
表皮细胞自体移植越来越多地用于治疗白癜风患者，是一种简单、安全且相对有效的方法。然而，治疗效果并不总是令人满意，一些患者对这种治疗反应较小或无反应。本研究旨在评估细胞移植反应者和无反应者之间差异表达的基因，以寻找可预测患者对这种细胞治疗反应的潜在标志物。
本临床试验研究纳入了11例接受自体表皮细胞移植的稳定期白癜风患者。在细胞移植前，从受者的白癜风皮损处获取皮肤样本。表皮细胞移植后，对患者进行至少6个月的随访，以评估对表皮细胞注射的反应。采用RNA测序确定反应性和非反应性白癜风患者之间潜在的基因表达谱差异。
RNA测序结果显示，反应者与非反应者患者皮肤标本之间有470个基因的表达水平存在差异。其中上调基因269个，下调基因201个。上调基因参与脂肪酸ω氧化等过程。下调基因与PPAR信号通路和雌激素信号通路有关。在反应者与非反应者患者中RNA表达水平变化最大的差异表达基因（DEG）中，我们选择了3个基因（上调基因 和下调基因 以及 ）作为潜在生物标志物，它们参与相关通路。
根据我们的研究结果，估计所提出的基因可能预测白癜风患者对细胞治疗的反应。然而，需要进一步研究以阐明这些基因在发病机制中的作用，并在表皮细胞移植治疗背景下对更多白癜风患者的基因表达进行特征分析（注册号：IRCT201508201031N16）。
