Characterization of Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Tissue Factors in Rosacea: A Pilot Study

Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin disease mainly affecting the facial skin. Our aim was to determine the appearance of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in rosacea-affected facial tissue. Materials and Methods: Rosacea tissue were obtained from eight patients (aged 35 to 50 years). The control group (CG) included four facial skin samples (49 to 70 years). Routine staining and immunohistochemistry for IL-1, IL-10, LL-37, HBD-2, and HBD-4 proceeded. Results: Inflammation was observed in all the rosacea samples. A statistically significant difference was seen between epithelial HBD-2 positive cells in comparison to the control. There was a strong positive correlation between HBD-4 in the epithelium and HBD-4 in the connective tissue, IL-10 in the epithelium and IL-1 in the connective tissue, and IL-1 in the epithelium and IL-10 in the connective tissue. Conclusion: Increased levels of IL-10 and decreased levels of IL-1 show the balance between anti- and pro-inflammatory tissue responses. A significant amount of HBD-2 in the epithelium proves its important role in the local immune response of rosacea-affected tissue. The last effect seems to be intensified by the elevated level of LL-37 in the epithelium.