Role of skin resident T-cells in skin inflammatory diseases like psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.

Skin resident T-cells are the most important T-cells with regard to immune-surveillance in the skin. The cytokines produced by these cells acts as a mediator of inflammation mounted either as a protective response or during inflammatory diseases. Th-9 is a skin resident T-cell that is the bulk producer of IL-9 in the skin. Role of IL-9 produced by the T cells in circulation is very pronounced in inflammatory diseases such as asthma and atopic

dermatitis. Another cytokine produced as a defense mechanism during pathogenic insult is IL-17, whose pathogenic role is pronounced in psoriasis when it is overproduced.

With this proposal, we aim to isolate keratinocytes from skin using a well established method in our lab. Next, the effect of IL-9, IFN-γ,IL-17A, IL-4 and IL-13 on the keratinocytes will be studied in terms of gene expression, proteomics, metabolomics and mechanical properties. Translation of the ex vivo findings into in vivo will be done with biopsies of AD and psoriasis patients. Understanding the role of T-cell derived cytokines from the skin resident population will likely shed considerable light upon pathophysiology of AD and psoriasis and designing the most appropriate treatment for the same.