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Skin cell atlas sheds light on development of psoriasis and eczema, could lead to new treatments
- Researchers have created an ‘atlas’ examining 50,000 different skin cells
- Identified the cellular mechanisms responsible for chronic skin conditions
- Many of them are found to be the same as in healthy cells and I hope the database and discovery will help develop future therapies.
British scientists have discovered how chronic skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema develop.
Researchers at the University of Newcastle have discovered that skin cells with eczema and psoriasis share many cellular mechanisms as the development of healthy skin cells.
The team said the findings, published in the journal Science, could aid in the development of new drugs targeting inflammatory skin diseases.
Researchers at Newcastle University have found that skin cells with eczema and psoriasis share many cellular mechanisms as healthy skin cell development
Psoriasis, which affects around 2% of people in the UK, is caused by increased production of skin cells.
While the process is not fully understood, the condition is believed to be related to a problem with the immune system.
Eczema, which causes itchy, dryness and cracking of the skin, is more common in children but may improve as they get older.
There is no cure for the conditions and treatments can only alleviate the symptoms.
Scientists have created a detailed map of human skin as part of the Atlas of Human Cells global effort to map all cell types in the human body.
They looked at how cells develop in healthy skin as well as in the skin of patients with eczema and psoriasis.
Psoriasis, which affects around 2% of people in the UK, is caused by increased production of skin cells. Although the process is not fully understood, the condition is believed to be related to an issue with the immune system.
Analysis of more than 500,000 skin cells revealed that diseased cells shared many of the same molecular pathways as developing cells.
Professor Muzlifah Haniffa, co-lead author at Newcastle University and associate faculty at Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: ‘This atlas of skin cells reveals specific molecular signals sent by healthy developing skin to invoke immune cells and forming a protective layer.
“We were amazed to see that skin cells in eczema and psoriasis send the same molecular signals, which could overactivate immune cells and cause disease.
“It had never been seen before. Finding out that developing cell pathways are reappearing is a big step forward in our understanding of inflammatory skin diseases and offers new avenues for finding treatments.
The researchers said their study also opens new avenues for research into other inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease and could have “ big implications ” for regenerative medicine, in especially for burns.
Professor Fiona Watt, co-lead author from Kings College London, said: “There have been decades of research on skin cells grown in the laboratory.
“However, it is not always clear how the properties of cells change in the laboratory.
“By revealing the detailed composition of cells immediately after isolation from developing and adult human skin, this Atlas of Skin Cells can serve as a model for researchers trying to reconstruct healthy skin using regenerative medicine.
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