Spatial transcriptomic profiling reveals the pathophysiology of early-stage hidradenitis suppurativa
Christine Suh‐Yun Joh, Soyoung Jeong, Chul Lee, Hee Jung Lee, Jung Ho Lee, Hyun Seung Choi, Soyun Cho, Gwangil Kim, Jaehwan Kim, James G. Krueger, Chung‐Gyu Park, Jung U Shin, Seon‐Pil Jin, Hyun Je Kim
Abstract
We investigated the role of the epithelium of nodules in Hurley stage I hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) by using spatial transcriptomics to analyse the profiles of epithelial cells and dermal-infiltrating immune cells. Compared with epidermal cysts, genes related to bacterial response, inflammatory mediators and neutrophil degranulation pathways were upregulated in the epithelial cells of early-stage HS nodules. Our analysis of dermal-infiltrating immune cells surrounding the epithelium of nodules revealed significantly elevated levels of B-cell-related genes. Similarly to the sinus tract formation observed in moderate-to-severe HS, we propose that the production of inflammatory mediators in early-stage HS may involve the activation of keratinocytes and their interaction with dermal-infiltrating immune cells.