title: Prenatal human skin expresses the antimicrobial peptide RNase 7.
abstract: Antimicrobial peptides and proteins (AMPs) play important roles in skin immune defense due to their capacity to inhibit growth of microbes. During intrauterine life, the skin immune system has to acquire the prerequisites to protect the newborn from infection in the hostile environment after birth, which includes the production of skin AMPs. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of RNase 7, HBD-2/3 and psoriasin during human skin development, thus, providing a deeper insight about the maturity of a fundamental component of the innate immune system. We found low RNase 7 expression levels in the periderm but no expression of HBD-2/3 and psoriasin in first trimester human skin using immunohistochemistry. At the end of the second trimester, RNase 7 is expressed weakly in all epidermal layers with a marked signal in the stratum corneum. HBD-3 and psoriasin are focally expressed while HBD-2 is not detectable. Analysis of supernatants from cultured prenatal skin cells showed that in contrast to adult control, RNase 7 and psoriasin are not found in prenatal skin, suggesting that AMPs are detectable but are not secreted. This study shows the differential expression of AMPs in developing, non-perturbed human prenatal skin. It is conceivable that the combined expression of RNase 7, HBD-3 and psoriasin in fetal skin constitutes a developmental program to exert a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity to maintain sterility in the amniotic cavity.
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunology, Allergy and Infectious Diseases (DIAID), Department of Dermatology, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunobiology of the Skin, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.forename: Regine
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gläser
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fiala
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Eppel
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harder
authors.forename: Jens-M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schröder
authors.forename: Adelheid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elbe-Bürger
mesh_terms: D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004817:Epidermis / Q000196:embryology / Q000201:enzymology*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D012260:Ribonucleases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000075023:S100 Calcium Binding Protein A7; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D023083:beta-Defensins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C422950:DEFB103A protein, human; C106641:DEFB4A protein, human; D000075023:S100 Calcium Binding Protein A7; D009418:S100 Proteins; C089242:S100A7 protein, human; D023083:beta-Defensins; D012260:Ribonucleases; C470000:Ribonuclease 7
references.citation: J Invest Dermatol. 1991 Jul;97(1):65-72
references.pmid: 1711549
references.citation: Anat Rec. 1988 Oct;222(2):201-6
references.pmid: 3213969
references.citation: Immunol Cell Biol. 2010 May-Jun;88(4):393-9
references.pmid: 20212508
references.citation: Cell Mol Life Sci. 2006 Feb;63(4):469-86
references.pmid: 16416029
references.citation: Histopathology. 2006 Nov;49(5):506-14
references.pmid: 17064297
references.citation: J Biol Chem. 2006 Jan 27;281(4):2005-11
references.pmid: 16319062
references.citation: J Exp Med. 2009 Jan 16;206(1):169-81
references.pmid: 19139172
references.citation: Pediatr Res. 2003 Apr;53(4):566-72
references.pmid: 12612195
references.citation: J Invest Dermatol. 2005 Jul;125(1):9-13
references.pmid: 15982297
references.citation: J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2003 Jan;13(1):2-21
references.pmid: 12710851
references.citation: Allergol Int. 2011 Mar;60(1):17-24
references.pmid: 21252615
references.citation: Br J Dermatol. 2002 Dec;147(6):1127-34
references.pmid: 12452861
references.citation: Nat Immunol. 2005 Jan;6(1):57-64
references.pmid: 15568027
references.citation: Am J Anat. 1989 Feb;184(2):157-64
references.pmid: 2712007
references.citation: Pediatr Res. 2003 Feb;53(2):211-6
references.pmid: 12538777
references.citation: J Innate Immun. 2012;4(3):241-7
references.pmid: 22327069
references.citation: Semin Cutan Med Surg. 2008 Jun;27(2):144-50
references.pmid: 18620136
references.citation: J Invest Dermatol. 1999 Jun;112(6):903-9
references.pmid: 10383737
references.citation: PLoS One. 2009 Jul 29;4(7):e6424
references.pmid: 19641608
references.citation: Development. 2012 Nov;139(22):4210-9
references.pmid: 23034637
references.citation: Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1997 Jan;176(1 Pt 1):77-81
references.pmid: 9024093
references.citation: J Invest Dermatol. 1999 Jun;112(6):882-6
references.pmid: 10383733
references.citation: Nature. 2002 Jan 24;415(6870):389-95
references.pmid: 11807545
references.citation: J Invest Dermatol. 2012 Nov;132(11):2581-92
references.pmid: 22718119