RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 HCV poly U/UC sequence–induced inflammation leads to metabolic disorders in vulvar lichen sclerosis
JF Life Science Alliance
JO Life Sci. Alliance
FD Life Science Alliance LLC
SP e202000906
DO 10.26508/lsa.202000906
VO 4
IS 8
A1 Qing Cong
A1 Xiao Guo
A1 Shengwei Zhang
A1 Jinhui Wang
A1 Yi Zhu
A1 Lili Wang
A1 Guangxing Lu
A1 Yufeng Zhang
A1 Wei Fu
A1 Liying Zhou
A1 Shuaikang Wang
A1 Cenxi Liu
A1 Jia Song
A1 Chaoyong Yang
A1 Chi Luo
A1 Ting Ni
A1 Long Sui
A1 He Huang
A1 Jin Li
YR 2021
UL https://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/4/8/e202000906.abstract
AB Vulvar lichen sclerosis (VLS) is a dermatologic disorder that affects women worldwide. Women with VLS have white, atrophic papules on the vulva. They suffer from life-long intense pruritus. Corticosteroids are the first-line of treatments and the most effective medicines for VLS. Although VLS has been speculated as an autoimmune disease for a long time, its pathogenesis and the molecular mechanism is largely unknown. We performed a comprehensive multi-omics analysis of paired samples from VLS patients as well as healthy donors. From the RNA-seq analysis, we found that VLS is correlated to abnormal antivirus response because of the presence of Hepatitis C Virus poly U/UC sequences. Lipidomic and metabolomic analysis revealed that inflammation-induced metabolic disorders of fatty acids and glutathione were likely the reasons for pruritus, atrophy, and pigment loss in the vulva. Thus, the present study provides an initial interpretation of the pathogenesis and molecular mechanism of VLS and suggests that metabolic disorders that affect the vulva may serve as therapeutic targets for VLS.