Skin Immunity Sample Collection Involving Blisters and Biopsies

The incidence of community-associated (CA) staphylococcal infections, especially those caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), has increased in recent years. Skin and soft tissues are the primary sites for these infections. Although many patients without apparent underlying immune dysfunction suffer from recurrent and persistent skin infections with S.aureus, patients with conditions such as hyper immunoglobulin E syndrome (HIES, or Job s syndrome) and chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) are disproportionately affected. Although underlying host molecular defects responsible for some of these predisposing conditions have been uncovered in recent years, the skin immune response to S. aureus infections has not been elucidated in either healthy volunteers or susceptible populations. We hypothesize that the local skin response determines susceptibility to S. aureus skin infection.

In this sample collection protocol, we will perform exploratory evaluations of anti-staphylococcal immune responses in healthy volunteers, subjects with HIES, and subjects with CGD. Following screening and baseline procedures, including blood draw and skin swab, subjects will have the option to undergo blister induction, where a suction device will be used to induce skin blisters on the forearm. The tops of the blisters and blister fluid will be collected for research testing and storage for future research. An optional overnight inpatient stay may be performed to collect additional cellular infiltrates in response to autologous serum and/or sterile saline. Subjects may also have up to 4 skin punch biopsies from the forearm over the course of a week to capture wound healing progress and identify involved genes. All research procedures will be performed at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (NIH CC).

The primary objective of this research is to perform ex vivo assessment of wound healing pathways using a skin blister model and skin biopsies to obtain keratinocyte cultures and evaluate skin immune responses. We will use three experimental approaches: 1) ex vivo evaluation of anti-microbial responses and tissue remodeling through derivation of keratinocyte cultures from skin blisters and biopsies, 2) in vivo and ex vivo assessment of cellular response after blister induction using overnight exposure to autologous serum and/or sterile saline, and 3) evaluation of in vivo responses to skin biopsies. We anticipate that the research will provide critical new information on the human skin immune and remodeling responses and will have direct relevance for the development of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics.