The following is a summary of “Overexpression of helper T cell type 2-related molecules in the skin of patients with eosinophilic dermatosis of hematologic malignancy,” published in the October 01, 2022 issue of Dermatology by Maglie, et al.

An uncommon dermatosis called eosinophilic dermatosis of hematologic malignancy (EDHM) is connected to blood cancers. For a study, researchers sought to describe how pruritogenic mediators and T-cell and B-cell markers were expressed in EDHM skin.

Bullous pemphigoid (BP), bullous eczema, and five healthy control (HC) skin samples underwent immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence examination. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the serum levels of interleukin (IL) 4 were examined in 11 patients with EDHM, 11 patients with BP, and 5 with HC.

Clusters of differentiation (CD) 3, CD4, CD8, and CD5 were among the T-cell markers that were noticeably overexpressed in EDHM and BP skin compared to HC. There was a preponderance of CD4⁺ over CD8⁺cells and GATA3⁺ (helper T cell type 2 [Th2] marker) over T-bet⁺ (Th1 marker) cells. Although the FOXP3/CD4 ratio was low, FOXP3 expression was higher. The three groups did not vary significantly. However, B-cell markers were underrepresented. H2 & BP TH3 & BP TH2 & BP TH Comparing EDHM to BP and HC, eotaxin-1 was markedly overexpressed. When compared to HC, IL-4 serum levels were considerably higher in EDHM and BP.

IL-4 in particular is a Th2-related molecule that can be targeted for EDHM treatment.

Reference: jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(21)02090-9/fulltext