[Abnormal nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-E2 related factor 2 in the lesion of vitiligo].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether abnormal translocation of nuclear factor-E2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) exists in the lesion of vitiligo.


METHODS
Skin specimens from 8 vitiligo patients and 3 healthy controls were collected, half of them underwent laser co-focal microscopy to detect the Nrf2 location and half of them underwent cell culture. Blister fluid was collected form the 8 vitiligo patients and skin donor sites to detect the levels of serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and malonyldialdehyde (MDA) by using detection kit. Expression of Nrf2 in epidermal cell of the 8 vitiligo patients and primary epidermal cell of the 3 healthy controls was identified with cell immunofluorescence histochemistry method. The nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins of all above samples were isolated to be identified by Western blotting.


RESULTS
The levels of SOD and CAT in the lesion tissue were significantly lower than those in the skin donor site. The levels of MDA in the lesion tissue were significantly higher than those in the skin donor sites (both P < 0.05). Immunofluorescence histochemistry, showed that Nrf2 was predominantly cytoplasmic in the epidermal cells in the lesion, while Nrf2 expression could be seen in both the cytoplasm and nucleus in the epidermal cells in the normal skin donor sites and skins of the healthy controls. Western blotting showed that the nuclear Nrf2 level in the vitiligo skin lesion was (0.11 +/- 0.03), significantly lower than that in the normal skin donor site (0.27 +/- 0.06) and in the skins of the healthy controls (0.32 +/- 0.02) (both P < 0.01). However, there was no significant difference in the Nrf2 level of in cytoplasm among the three types of tissues (0.63 +/- 0.04, 0.61 +/- 0.03, and 0.65 +/- 0.04, all P > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Nrf2 does not translocate from cytoplasm into the nucleus in the lesion of vitiligo patients.
Guan
Cui-Ping
CP
Department of Dermatology, Third People's Hospital of Hangzhou, Hangzhou 310009, China. imgcp@hotmail.com
Wei
Xiao-Dong
XD
Chen
Hui-Ying
HY
Zhang
Li
L
Zhou
Miao-Ni
MN
Xu
Ai-E
AE
D000328:Adult; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D002467:Cell Nucleus; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D051267:NF-E2-Related Factor 2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014820:Vitiligo / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
D051267:NF-E2-Related Factor 2; D015534:Trans-Activators; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D002374:Catalase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase