2. Academic Validation
  3. The PLAUR signaling promotes chronic pruritus

The PLAUR signaling promotes chronic pruritus

  • FASEB J. 2022 Jun;36(6):e22368. doi: 10.1096/fj.202200079R.
Weiwei Chen 1,  Yanqing Li 1,  Martin Steinhoff 2 3 4 5 6 7,  Wenhao Zhang 1,  Joerg Buddenkotte 2 3 4,  Timo Buhl 8,  Renkai Zhu 1,  Xinrong Yan 1,  Zhiping Lu 1,  Song Xiao 1,  Jiafu Wang 9,  Jianghui Meng 10
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
  • 2 Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
  • 3 Translational Research Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
  • 4 Dermatology Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
  • 5 Department of Dermatology, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
  • 6 College of Medicine, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
  • 7 Department of Dermatology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
  • 8 Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, University Medical Centre Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
  • 9 Faculty of Science and Health, School of Biotechnology, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland.
  • 10 Faculty of Science and Health, National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland.
PMID: 35596683 DOI: 10.1096/fj.202200079R
Abstract

Chronic itch is a complex sensation of the skin frequently associated with skin diseases, such as atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis. Although Serpin E1 is implicated in chronic itch, its receptor and signaling pathways involved in itch are not known. In this study, the clinical relevance of a putative Serpin E1 receptor PLAUR to chronic itch, and the neuro-cutaneous Serpin E1-PLAUR signaling are explored. We found that PLAUR is overexpressed in skin specimens of human lesional AD and lesional psoriasis, and sensory neurons innervating MC903-induced AD-like murine skin. Murine PLAUR+ sensory neurons responded to Serpin E1, resulting in enrichment of numerous itch- and inflammation-related genes and their protein release. PLAUR resides in TLR2+ neurons and Serpin E1 stimulus led to transcriptional upregulation of TLR2 and its co-signaling proteins. Agonists of TLR2 propagated itch-related gene transcription including BNP, OSM, and PAR2. OSM induced acute itch in mice and promoted G-CSF and IL-8 release from human keratinocytes. Serpin E1 inhibitor reduced MC903-induced itch, epidermal hyperplasia, immunocyte infiltration, and resulted in lower transcription/expression levels of Serpin E1 and OSM. Taken together, the PLAUR-TLR2-OSM signaling promotes skin-nerve communication, cutaneous inflammation, and itch, all feeding into an aggravation of AD and exaggerated itch circuits.

Keywords

OSM; OSMR; PLAUR; Serpin E1; atopic dermatitis; toll-like receptor.

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