Label-free proteomics-based analysis: Comparison of two atopic dermatitis-like cell models

Summary: Abstract Body: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is the non-fatal skin disease with the highest global disease burden. In recent years, although targeted drugs have been developed with favorable therapeutic effects. However, the high cost of treatment has limited their accessibility. To increase treatment options for patients, it is critical to develop drugs that work faster, effectively relieve itching, and have fewer side effects. Therefore, the establishment of viable in vitro models is crucial for the screening of new drugs. The complicated interactions of keratinocytes (KCs) with environmental factors, skin microbiota, inflammatory cells, and nerves are vital in the pathogenesis and development of AD. The multi-functionality of KCs allows them to be used as models for studying a variety of pathological processes, including AD.The HaCaT cell line is the most widely used cell line for constructing in vitro models of AD. The results showed that IL-4 combined with IL-13 administration was mainly involved in the acute phase inflammatory response, and TNF-α combined with IFN-γ administration was mainly involved in the innate immune response. In addition, qPCR results showed that both modeling methods induced HaCaT cells to overexpress AD-related cytokines and inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-8, TSLP, and CXCL1/2/9/10). These suggest that both methods can be used as in vitro models to mimic AD disease for drug screening. Meng Lu^{1, 2}, Derong Chen¹, Xiaoqian Liu¹, Xiongshun Liang¹, Liru Feng¹, Xuqiao Hu^{1, 3}, Wenxu Hong¹ 1. Shenzhen Institute of Dermatology, Shenzhen Center for Chronic Disease Control, Shenzhen, China. 2. College of Pharmacology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. 3. College of Pharmacology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Adaptive and Auto-Immunity