Background and Aim: As a blistering agent, mustard gas causes a variety of disorders in different body organs, including the skin, such as altrations in DNA and clinical manifestations like pruritus. TGF-β1 molecule is a cytokine with anti-cell growth and inflammation suppression effects in skin inflammation. The aim of this study was to determine TGF-β1 gene exprtession in victims exposed to mustard gas and the correlation with the severity of their pruritus.
Methods: 17 victims exposed to mustard gas, 17 patients with chronic contact dermatitis and 10 healthy individuals were included in the study. The assessment of TGF-β1 expression in their skin samples was conducted by semi-quantitative RT-PCR followed by immunohistochemistry and classification of patients was done by pruritus severity scoring system (0-3).
Results: There was a significant decrease in TGF-β1 gene expression in mustard gas exposed victims comparing to chronic contact dermatitis group and the control group (P<0.05). In addition, in the absence of TGF-β1 expression, the severity of pruritus in the patient group significantly increased (P<0.05).
Conclusion: TGF-β1 has a significant role in chronic inflammatory skin lesions caused by mustard gas.