Systemic skin diseases with local manifestations, such as Hidradenitis Suppurativa, are characterized by excessive tissue remodeling and immune cell activity. This manifests in painful nodules, abscesses, and draining malodorous tunnels, affecting the patient's quality of life.
Tissue-specific biomarkers, quantifying and monitoring epidermal damage, dermal damage and immune cell activity, are key advantages when understanding the disease mechanisms and complexity in hidradenitis suppurativa, and lead to targeted successful treatments.
Hidradenitis suppurutiva has several aspects of unment needs. These needs can addressed by utilizing biomarkers to reduce diagnostic delay, closer monitoring of disease activity, define disease heterogeneity, refine drug repurposing and identify novel therapeutic targets.
Currently a trial-and-error approach is used when treating patients with hidradenitis suppurativa. This could be improved by predictive biomarkers allowing the selection of therapy with a greater reliability of response.
Our dermatology biomarker panels offer extracellular matrix-based-based biomarkers, which are fundamentally more different and more specific compared to what’s offered by omics providers. Our technology provides valuable insights into tissue formation, degradation, and resolution, that offer a deeper understanding of pathological processes related to skin diseases. At the same time, proteomics providers' wide-range arrays may not offer the same level of specificity.
Tissue remodeling and immune cell activity are key features of hidradenitis suppurativa. Quantifying disease activity and remodeling in hidradenitis suppurativa can provide a unique insight into structural and functional changes in the disease pathogenesis. In addition, one of the key features of the biomarkers is the ability to monitor the disease activity, as shown by with association to the Satorious and IHS4 scores.
A balanced extracellular matrix (ECM) is necessary to preserve skin integrity and tissue homeostasis. Several ECM components of the dermis, epidermis, and epidermal basement membrane, reflecting the individual skin compartments are remodeled during hidradenitis suppurativa progression. Biomarkers related to disease severity and activity in hidradenitis suppurativa are crucial for use in clinical trials, but also to advance the knowledge of the biological complexity behind hidradenitis suppurativa.
The biomarkers utility in disease severity (Hurley staging) and disease activity (Satorious Score, HSS) are depicted by C1M (Dermis degradation; MMP-degraded type I collagen) and CPa9-HNE (Neutrophil acitivity; S100A9 degraded by human neutrophil elastase), in Figure 1. Both biomarkers are associated with disease severity and activity.
Figure 1. The C1M and CPa9-HNE biomarkers are associated with disease severity and activity
| The skin is the largest organ of the human body, and consists of three different layers; epidermis, dermis and subcutis. These three layers have distinct tissue architectures and functions. Skin functions are dependent on a complex composition of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. The ECM of the skin can be divided into the epidermal ECM, epidermal basement membrane and the papillary/reticular ECM. The major ECM components of the skin are collagens, which are located in the different tissue compartments to maintain tissue architecture. The Nordic ProteinFingerPrint Technology™ allows for the quantification of the different layers of the skin, and also the quantification of immune cell activity involved in different pathologies (Mast Cells, Neutrophils, and macrophages). |
Hidradenitis suppurativa is a chronic debilitating systemic skin disease, resulting in painful inflammation and follicles in the armpit, groin, and genitalia regions. It affects 4% of the population, and the disease onset occurs in the second decade of a patient’s life with 2:3 of the patients being women.
The patient is diagnosed by a physical examination and can be treated with topical, oral or intravenous antibiotic treatments. The treatments provide temporary relief, and some patients undergo surgical treatment to reduce the pain. Recently adalimumab (TNF-a inhibitor) has been approved for moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa, while no biological treatments are available for patients with mild disease.
Hidradenitis Suppurativa is characterized as a dermatological disease where the tissue architecture is being remodeled. The main component of the skin are collagens, which are remodeled as a part of the normal homeostasis of the skin. In hidradenitis suppurativa, there is an imbalance of tissue build-up and tissue breakdown, resulting in a net degradation of the tissue. Nordic Bioscience's biomarkers can quantify skin tissue turnover directly in a serum sample and serve as a liquid biopsy.
Search and find publications that we have published.
Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or other inquiries.
Nordic Bioscience can quantify the different layers of the skin
