Cutaneous lupus erythematosus: histological analysis, immunohistochemistry and direct immunofluorescence

• Grant number: 11/50037-2
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: April 01, 2011
• End date: March 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Pathological Anatomy and Clinical Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Maria Letícia Cintra
• Grantee: Maria Letícia Cintra
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Lupus erythematosus (LE) is a spectral autoimmune disease that ranges from purely cutaneous lesions to potentially fatal systemic disease. Cutaneous forms are classified into acute cutaneous LE, subacute, chronic and tumid, according to their clinical, histological and laboratory findings. Several studies on the pathogenesis of cutaneous LE (CLE) have been developed regarding the mechanisms of aberrant immune response and consequent tissue injury. However, the role of many cytokines, adhesion molecules and lymphocyte activation in the initiation of autoimmune phenomena is not yet fully understood. The main objective is to correlate the clinical, histological, direct immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry findings in patients with LEC in order to characterize the events that lead to skin lesions. The results can optimize the knowledge around the immunopathogenesis of the disease, which is essential for the development of new therapeutic strategies and further impact on quality of life and prognosis of affected patients. Samples of the affected skin by CLE, which were collected and archived over the past three years, from the patients of Hospital of Clinics/ UNICAMP, will be analyzed using histochemical and immunohistochemical methods. Both of the material embedded in paraffin and the frozen tissue will be used. It will be employed the immunohistochemistry technique for CD4, CD8, CD56, granzyme A, granzyme B, perforin, granulysin, ICAM-1, IL-6, IL-1b, IL-17, IL-18, FoxP3, IL-10 and TGF -b, whose expression will be analyzed in digitized images. Data will be collected from medical records, including age, gender, race, comorbidities, clinical aspects, and relevant results of laboratory tests. The results will be tabulated and their significance, evaluated by statistical tests. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BARBARA HARTUNG LOVATO; LETICIA FOGAGNOLO; ELEMIR MACEDO DE SOUZA; LARISSA JULIANA BATISTA DA SILVA; PAULO EDUARDO NEVES FERREIRA VELHO; MARIA LETICIA CINTRA; FERNANDA TEIXEIRA. IL-1β and IL-17 in cutaneous lupus erythematous skin biopsies: could immunohistochemicals indicate a tendency towards systemic involvement?. ANAIS BRASILEIROS DE DERMATOLOGIA, v. 99, n. 1, p. 66-71, 2024-01-22. (11/50037-2)