Tissue Expression of Protease Activated Receptor 2 in Patients with Pruritus in Chronic Kidney Disease

Nada, Hesham A.; Hafez, Gamal A.; Keshawy, Mohammed M.; Abdelrahman, Eman G.

doi:10.21608/scumj.2023.284001

Tissue Expression of Protease Activated Receptor 2 in Patients with Pruritus in Chronic Kidney Disease

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Andrology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Egypt.

² Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Egypt.

³ Department of Internal Medicine; Nephrology division, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Egypt

10.21608/scumj.2023.284001

Abstract

Background: Uremic pruritus has been defined as itching that is directly related to kidney disease, without any other comorbid condition that causes itching. The exact pathogenesis of uremic pruritus remains unclear but, protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) is claimed to have a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of uremic pruritus. Aim: Evaluation of PAR2 activity in the epidermis of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) complaining of pruritus. Subjects and Methods: Case-control study on 48 individuals (24 CKD patients complaining from pruritus and 24 matched healthy controls). Skin biopsy specimens from all participants were taken from a similar area of the back of forearms then immunohistochemical analysis for PAR2 activity in the epidermis was performed. Results: Data revealed that epidermal PAR-2 expression was significantly higher in CKD patients compared to healthy controls. PAR2 staining intensity in skin biopsies was moderate in 9 (37.5%) patients and strong in 15 (62.5%) patients in the cases group. On the other hand, PAR2 staining was moderate in all 24 (100%) cases in the control group which was statistically significant.Conclusion: Epidermal PAR-2 expression is increased in CKD patients with pruritus.

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