Systemic sclerosis & Raynaud's
Disturbed Spatial WNT Activation—A Potential Driver of the Reticularized Skin Phenotype in Systemic Sclerosis
Authors' conclusion
We demonstrate an association of the "reticularized" skin phenotype in SSc with a profound loss of physiologic spatial WNT/β-catenin-activation.
Study context
- Population
- Skin of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), controls and patients with hypertrophic scars
- Participants
- 23 / 18 / 15
- Comparison
- SSc skin vs controls and hypertrophic scars
- SScn = 23
- Controlsn = 18reference
- Hypertrophic scarsn = 15
- Outcome
- Skin morphology (papillae) and spatial WNT/β-catenin activation
Methodological detailshistological assessment, RNAscope and immunofluorescence staining, Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and gene set enrichment analysis
- Histological assessment
- RNAscope and immunofluorescence staining
- GO enrichment and gene set enrichment analysis
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Decrease in number of papillae in SSc vs controls and hypertrophic scars, respectively
- P < 0.0001/P = 0.0004
- Decrease in area of papillae in SSc vs controls and hypertrophic scars
- P < 0.0001
- Decrease in height of papillae in SSc vs controls and hypertrophic scars
- P < 0.0001
- Increase of reticular marker genes particularly pronounced in PI16+ and SFRP4+ fibroblast populations
- P < 0.0001, respectively
- Polarization lost in SSc: two-fold increase in β-catenin-positive and AXIN2-expressing fibroblasts throughout the dermis
- P = 0.0095
Original publication
Disturbed Spatial WNT Activation—A Potential Driver of the Reticularized Skin Phenotype in Systemic Sclerosis. Arthritis Rheumatol. Published 11 March 2025. doi:10.
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