Background Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is a well-known treatment for non-hypertrophic actinic keratoses and superficial basal-cell carcinomas. Objectives In this study, we first revealed that ALA-PDT treatment effectively ameliorated the psoriasis-like lesion in imiquimod (IMQ)-induced mouse model and further explored the potential molecular mechanism and related signalling pathways during the treatment. Besides, we also confirmed a significant alleviation of ALA-PDT therapy on IFN-γ-induced over-proliferation of keratinocytes. Methods H&E staining was conducted to reveal the histological changes of mice in different groups. The different expression levels of RNA were illustrated by using QRT-PCR. Western blot was performed to confirm the various expression levels of protein in mice. In vitro, cell proliferation and cell cycle were evaluated by cell counting kit-8 and flow cytometry assay, respectively. Results The result showed that ALA-PDT’s anti-proliferation effect and regulation on Socs1 /3, JAK1 /2 and K17 in IFN-γ-induced keratinocytes were largely weakened by NAC, indicating that ALA-PDT attenuated the proliferation of IFN-γ-induced keratinocytes by enhancing ROS level. Conclusions These results demonstrated that ALA-PDT largely activated the productivity of Socs1 /3 in a ROS-dependent manner. Socs1 /3 is a potential blocker in JAK signalling pathway and inhibits the proliferation and keratinization of keratinocytes in psoriasis.
Background The aim of this study was to identify changes in gene expression before and after 5-aminolevulinic acid-mediated photodynamic therapy (5-ALA-PDT) and to investigate the potential mechanism of 5-ALA-PDT based on ribonucleic acid sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis. Methods Secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) primary cells were isolated from surgically excised specimens and exposed to laser light. The transcription profiles of SHPT primary cells were identified through RNA-Seq. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Enrichment of functions and signaling pathway analysis were performed based on Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis were used to validate genes based on RNA-Seq results. Results In total, 1320 DEGs were identified, of which 1019 genes were upregulated and 301 genes were downregulated. GO and KEGG pathway analyses identified significantly enriched pathways in DEGs, including TGF beta in extracellular matrix (ECM), negative regulation of triglyceride biosynthetic process, protein heterodimerization activity, systemic lupus erythematosus, ECM–receptor interaction, focal adhesion and protein digestion and absorption. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analyses identified potential heat shock protein (HSP) interactions among the DEGs. Eight HSP genes were also identified that were most likely involved in 5-ALA-PDT, which were further validated by RT-qPCR and western blotting. Conclusions The findings of this descriptive study reveal changes in the transcriptome profile during 5-ALA-PDT, suggesting that gene expression and mutation, signaling pathways, and the molecular network are altered in SHPT primary cells. The above findings provide new insight for further studies on the mechanisms underlying 5-ALA-PDT in SHPT. Graphical abstract