ArticlePhotodermatology, photoimmunology & photomedicine2022
Clinical and laboratory characterization of patients with localized scleroderma and response to UVA-1 phototherapy: In vivo and in vitro skin models.
Article in Photodermatology, photoimmunology & photomedicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of therapeutic procedures for the treatment of morphea and systemic sclerosis.Lasers in medical science · 2026Pooled it
- An Ecofriendly L-Tryptophan Containing UVA-1 Permissive Sunscreen Formulation: A Novel Approach for Inflammatory and Fibrosing Skin Diseases.International journal of tryptophan research : IJTR · 2026Article
- Efficacy and Satisfaction of Low Doses UVA1 Phototherapy: A Spanish Experience from a Single Centre.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Clinical and laboratory characterization of patients with localized scleroderma and response to UVA-1 phototherapy: In vivo and in vitro skin models.Photodermatology, photoimmunology & photomedicine · 2022Article
- Pansclerotic Morphea, Refractory to Multiple Systemic Therapies, Successfully Treated with UVA-1 Phototherapy.Case reports in dermatologyArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
background/purposeLocalized scleroderma (LS) is a rare disease leading to progressive hardening and induration of the skin and subcutaneous tissues. LS is responsive to UVA-1 phototherapy, though its exact mechanism of action dermal fibrosis is yet to be fully elucidated. We aimed to investigate the molecular changes induced by UVA-1 rays in human primary fibroblasts cultures.
methodsA total of 16 LS patients were treated with medium-dose UVA-1 phototherapy. At baseline, during and after therapy, Localized Scleroderma Assessment Tool, Dermatology Life Quality Index and lesions' staging and mapping were performed along with high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) examination for dermal thickness assessment. Gene expression analysis for 23 mRNA transcripts, in vitro UVA-1 irradiation and viability tests were realized on lesional fibroblasts' primary cultures, before and 3 months after therapy.
resultsThe dermal thickness, the LoSCAT and the DLQI progressively decreased starting from the last phototherapy session up to the 6 and 9 month follow-ups (-57% and -60%, respectively). Molecular gene analysis (rt-PCR) revealed that UVA-1 phototherapy exerts multiple effects: the activation of specific anti-fibrotic pathways (e.g., overexpression of CTHRC1 and metalloproteases 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 12, suppression of TIMP-1), the downregulation of peculiar pro-fibrotic pathways (e.g., downregulation of TGF-ß, TGF-ßrII, Grb2, SMAD 2/3, TNRSF12A, CTGF) through a significant overexpression of IL-1ß; the stabilization of collagen synthesis acting on genes COL1A1, COL3A1, COL8A1, COL10A1, COL12A1.
conclusionUVA-1 phototherapy adds significant benefits in local tissue remodeling, rebalancing the alteration between pro-fibrotic and anti-fibrotic pathways; these changes can be well monitored by HFUS.
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