Objectives. Both thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and dendritic cells (DCs) are involved in many autoimmune diseases, but the potential roles of TSLP and DCs in bullous pemphigoid (BP) have not been clarified. We sought to explore the contributions of TSLP and DCs in patients with BP. Methods. TSLP levels in sera and blister fluids were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The TSLP expression in the BP lesional skin was detected by immunohistochemical staining. Infiltration of DCs, marked by DC-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-3-grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN), and its relationship with TSLP and TSLP receptors was evaluated by immunofluorescence staining. Results. We found that TSLP levels in sera and in blister fluids of patients with BP were higher compared to the control groups. In patients with BP, TSLP levels in sera correlated with TSLP levels in blisters. The expression of TSLP in the BP lesional skin was higher compared to the healthy controls’ skin. Greater numbers of TSLP-positive cells were observed in the epidermis of patients with BP compared to the healthy controls. Greater numbers of DC-SIGN-positive cells were present in the BP lesional skin compared to the skin of controls. The expression of TSLP was highly upregulated in DC-SIGN-positive cells, and most DC-SIGN-positive cells expressed TSLP receptors. Conclusions. We conclude that TSLP may activate DC-SIGN-positive DCs directly, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of BP.

中文翻译：

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胸腺基质淋巴细胞生成素与树突状细胞导致大疱性类天疱疮的发病机制有关

目标。胸腺基质淋巴细胞生成素 (TSLP) 和树突状细胞 (DCs) 都参与了许多自身免疫性疾病，但 TSLP 和 DCs 在大疱性类天疱疮 (BP) 中的潜在作用尚未阐明。我们试图探索 TSLP 和 DCs 在 BP 患者中的作用。方法。通过酶联免疫吸附测定法测量血清和水疱液中的 TSLP 水平。免疫组化染色检测BP损伤皮肤中TSLP的表达。通过免疫荧光染色评估以 DC 特异性细胞间粘附分子-3-抓取非整联蛋白 (DC-SIGN) 为标志的 DC 浸润及其与 TSLP 和 TSLP 受体的关系。结果. 我们发现，与对照组相比，BP 患者的血清和水疱液中的 TSLP 水平更高。在患有 BP 的患者中，血清中的 TSLP 水平与水疱中的 TSLP 水平相关。与健康对照皮肤相比，BP 病变皮肤中 TSLP 的表达更高。与健康对照相比，在 BP 患者的表皮中观察到更多数量的 TSLP 阳性细胞。与对照皮肤相比，BP 损伤皮肤中存在更多数量的 DC-SIGN 阳性细胞。DC-SIGN阳性细胞中TSLP的表达高度上调，大多数DC-SIGN阳性细胞表达TSLP受体。结论。我们得出结论，TSLP 可能直接激活 DC-SIGN 阳性 DC，这可能与 BP 的发病机制有关。