Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
RANTES gene activity in cat skin with eosinophilic plaques
By Kimura, Tomoe et al.Ā·Published in Veterinary dermatologyĀ·2003Ā·Department of Pathobiology, JapanĀ·View original on PubMed ā
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Original publication title: Expression of RANTES mRNA in skin lesions of feline eosinophilic plaque.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A cat with itchy, red skin lesions known as eosinophilic plaques was studied to understand what might be causing the problem. Researchers found that a substance called RANTES, which attracts certain immune cells, was present in higher amounts in the affected skin compared to normal skin. This suggests that RANTES could be involved in the inflammation and itching associated with these skin lesions. While the study didn't focus on treatment, understanding the role of RANTES could help veterinarians develop better therapies for cats suffering from similar skin issues in the future.
Abstract
One of the mechanisms of eosinophil infiltration is its induction by chemoattractants such as regulated upon activation, normal T-expressed and secreted (RANTES) which is a cysteine-cysteine chemokine that mediates chemotaxis and activation of eosinophils in humans and mice. Skin lesions of feline eosinophilic plaque are characterized by a predominant infiltration of eosinophils. The mechanism(s) of eosinophilic infiltration in the skin and/or mucosa of cats is unknown. It is possible that RANTES is involved. To investigate the presence of RANTES in the skin of cats with eosinophilic plaques and nonaffected skin, we cloned and sequenced the full-length feline RANTES cDNA gene, in order to determine whether it is present in the skin of cats with eosinophilic plaques and/or if it is present in normal adjacent skin. We were able to document the the expression of RANTES mRNAs in skin with feline eosinophilic plaque as well as in normal cat skin. The full-length cDNA sequence of the RANTES gene (742 bp) contained a single open reading frame of 276 bp encoding a protein of 92 amino acids. The amino acid sequence of feline RANTES shared 67 and 74% sequence identity with that of bovine and mouse RANTES genes, respectively. RT-PCR analysis on RANTES mRNA in the skin of cats with eosinophilic plaque revealed that its expression was higher in the eosinophilic plaque skin lesions than in the normal skin. The result suggested that RANTES might play a role to induce eosinophil infiltration in feline eosinophilic plaque lesions.
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Search related cases āOriginal publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14617295/