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Comparative Study
. 2024 Jul;33(7):e15145.
doi: 10.1111/exd.15145.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of acne vulgaris, rosacea, and hidradenitis suppurativa supports high-dose dietary zinc as a therapeutic agent

Li Li  1   2 , Irshad Hajam  3 , Jean S McGee  4 , Zhengkuan Tang  1   2 , Ye Zhang  5 , Nikil Badey  1   2 , Esther Mintzer  1   2 , Zhenrui Zhang  6   7 , George Y Liu  3 , George M Church  1   2 , Yu Wang  1   2   8
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparative transcriptome analysis of acne vulgaris, rosacea, and hidradenitis suppurativa supports high-dose dietary zinc as a therapeutic agent

Li Li et al. Exp Dermatol. 2024 Jul.

Abstract

Acne vulgaris, rosacea, and hidradenitis suppurativa are enduring inflammatory skin conditions that frequently manifest with akin clinical attributes, posing a considerable challenge for their distinctive diagnosis. While these conditions do exhibit certain resemblances, they also demonstrate distinct underlying pathophysiological mechanisms and treatment modalities. Delving into both the molecular parallels and disparities among these three disorders can yield invaluable insights for refined diagnostics, effective management, and targeted therapeutic interventions. In this report, we present a comparative analysis of transcriptomic data across these three diseases, elucidating differentially expressed genes and enriched pathways specific to each ailment, as well as those shared among them. Specifically, we identified multiple zinc-binding proteins (SERPINA1, S100A7, S100A8, S100A9 and KRT16) as consistently highly upregulated genes across all three diseases. Our hypothesis suggests that these proteins could bind and sequester zinc, potentially leading to localized zinc deficiency and heightened inflammation. We identified high-dose dietary zinc as a promising therapeutic approach and confirmed its effectiveness through validation in an acne mouse model.

Keywords: acne vulgaris; hidradenitis suppurativa; rosacea; transcriptome; zinc.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

All G.M.C COI are listed here: http://arep.med.harvard.edu/gmc/tech.html. All other authors report no conflict of interest.

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