Pavic Berna, Ogorevc Marin, Boric Katarina, Vukovic Dubravka, Saraga-Babic Mirna, Mardesic Snjezana
Renal Unit, University Hospital of Split, Šoltanska 1, 21000 Split, Croatia.
Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, University of Split School of Medicine, Šoltanska 2, 21000 Split, Croatia.
Biomedicines. 2023 Sep 7;11(9):2487. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines11092487.
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Although its pathogenesis is not fully understood, connexins (Cxs) and pannexins (Panx) could be involved in the process of fibrosis. We analyzed the protein expression of Cx37, Cx40, Cx43, and Panx1 in the gastric mucosa of patients with SSc and healthy volunteers, using immunofluorescence staining. Protein levels of Cx37 were slightly increased, while the levels of Cx40 were significantly decreased in the lamina propria of the gastric mucosa of SSc patients compared to the controls. The changes were proportional to SSc severity, with the most prominent changes found in patients with severe diffuse cutaneous SSc. No differences in Cx43 or Panx1 levels were found between the analyzed groups of samples. The lack of changes in Cx43 expression, which has been previously associated with fibrosis, could be due to the weak expression of Cx43 in the gastric mucosa in general. Further studies on full-thickness gastric biopsies containing muscle layers and animal SSc models are needed to fully elucidate the role of Cxs and Panxs in SSc-associated fibrosis.
系统性硬化症（SSc）是一种自身免疫性疾病，其特征为皮肤和内脏器官纤维化。尽管其发病机制尚未完全明确，但连接蛋白（Cxs）和泛连接蛋白（Panx）可能参与了纤维化过程。我们采用免疫荧光染色法分析了SSc患者和健康志愿者胃黏膜中Cx37、Cx40、Cx43和Panx1的蛋白表达情况。与对照组相比，SSc患者胃黏膜固有层中Cx37的蛋白水平略有升高，而Cx40的水平显著降低。这些变化与SSc的严重程度成正比，在重度弥漫性皮肤型SSc患者中变化最为明显。在分析的样本组之间未发现Cx43或Panx1水平存在差异。Cx43表达缺乏变化，而此前曾认为其与纤维化有关，这可能是由于Cx43在胃黏膜中的表达总体较弱所致。需要对包含肌层的全层胃活检组织和动物SSc模型进行进一步研究，以充分阐明Cxs和Panxs在SSc相关纤维化中的作用。
