Biomarkers of tissue turnover tied to hidradenitis suppurativa severity, activity

There appears to be a correlation between markers of tissue turnover and disease activity and severity in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), a new study reports.

The study included 331 newly diagnosed HS patients enrolled from a well-characterized Danish cohort. Most patients (n=148) had mild disease as determined by the Hurley stage I classification, while 145 and 38 had moderate (Hurley II) and severe (Hurley III) disease. The HS score (HSS) was used to measure disease activity.

All participants provided serum samples, from which enzyme linked immunosorbent assays measured the levels of the following extracellular matrix markers: C1M, C3M, C4M, C5M, C7M, VICM, CPa9-HNE, C4G, PRO-C3, PRO-C4, and PRO-C6. Serum samples from healthy donors were also included in the analysis.

Those with Hurley Stage II (p=0.043) and III (p<0.0001) disease showed higher levels of the C1M marker, as opposed to stage I comparators. The same was true for the C3M and C4M markers, but not for C5M. C7M, meanwhile, was elevated in stage III disease as opposed to stages I (p=0.0003) and II (p=0.0042).

VICM, an indicator of macrophage activity, was also significantly higher in patients with Hurley stage II (p=0.0167) and III (p<0.0001) disease, while the human neutrophil activity marker CPa9-HNE was enriched in stage III disease (p=0.0019).

Spearman’s correlation analysis then showed that CPa9-HNE, PRO-C4, C1M, C3M, C4M, and C7M were all moderately to strongly, and significantly, associated with HSS score. The remaining markers were also correlated with HSS, but at weak magnitudes.

“While it may be difficult to relate serum levels of these inflammatory markers to HS, it may be the burden of both inflammatory and fibrotic factors which contribute to the skin tissue turnover in HS,” the researchers said. “Measuring end products of tissue destruction, which are the downstream effect of the inflammatory signals, may facilitate better monitoring of tissue turnover.”