Original paper
The contribution of chemokines and chemokine receptors in dermatitis herpetiformis pathogenesis

Introduction: Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) is an autoimmune subepidermal bullous disease, accompanied by itching. There are inflammatory infiltrates in the dermis, formed mainly by neutrophils. Chemokines are critical for the selective attraction and activation of various leukocyte subsets in the inflammatory process, but little is known about the contribution of chemokines to this disease.
Aim: The aim of the study was to assess differences in expression of chemokines and their receptors in skin lesions and perilesional skin in DH. The localization and expression of chemokines in skin lesions and perilesional skin were studied by immunohistochemistry. Moreover the serum concentration of selected cytokines was measured by immunoassays.
Results: Expression of eotaxin, TARC, CCR-1, CXCR-1 and CXCR-2 in the epidermis as well as in inflammatory influxed cells in the dermis was detected in skin biopsies from DH patients. Expression of examined chemokines and receptors was detected in perilesional skin but it was much lower than in lesional skin. There was no expression of MCP-1 in biopsies from DH patients. The expression of neither examined chemokines nor their receptors was observed in skin biopsies from healthy people.
Conclusions: In conclusion, these data provide evidence that chemokines may play an essential role in activating and recruiting leukocytes, which ultimately contribute to the tissue damage in DH.