Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42124321›Full record

ArticleSmall methods2026

Spatially Profiling Trace Cytokine Signatures From Microscopically Derived Skin Samples to Probe Skin Disease Inflammation.

Aditya Krishnakumar, Zhen Zhang, Courtney Vedelago, Timothy J Liu, Yung-Ching Kao, H Peter Soyer, Mitchell S Stark, Snehlata Kumari, Matt Trau, Alain Wuethrich

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Small methods, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Aditya KrishnakumarCentre For Personalised Nanomedicine, Australian Institute For Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0719-549X
Zhen ZhangCentre For Personalised Nanomedicine, Australian Institute For Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5766-3468
Courtney VedelagoCentre For Personalised Nanomedicine, Australian Institute For Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Timothy J LiuFrazer Institute, The University of Queensland, Dermatology Research Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8034-9856
Yung-Ching KaoFrazer Institute, The University of Queensland, Dermatology Research Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
H Peter SoyerFrazer Institute, The University of Queensland, Dermatology Research Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Mitchell S StarkFrazer Institute, The University of Queensland, Dermatology Research Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Snehlata KumariFrazer Institute, The University of Queensland, Dermatology Research Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Matt TrauCentre For Personalised Nanomedicine, Australian Institute For Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5516-1280
Alain WuethrichCentre For Personalised Nanomedicine, Australian Institute For Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9569-0478

Funding

Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship Programme FL220100059National Health and Medical Research Council 2034488
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Inflammatory skin diseases, such as atopic dermatitis, hidradenitis suppurativa and psoriasis, involve chronic aberrations to innate and adaptive immunity, driven by pro-inflammatory cytokines. Various minimally invasive methods exist that allow for proteomic analysis of affected skin lesions in microscale concentrations. However, analyzing cytokines in small skin samples using traditional immunoassays is challenging due to many cytokines being detectable only at pico-scale concentrations. Here, a digital surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) immunoassay has been developed for multiplex detection of IL-17A, IL-22, IL-23 and TNF in punch biopsy skin using psoriasis as a model. It is performed using single-molecule counting via analyte compartmentalization on a nanopillar array and single-particle active SERS nanotags. This SERS nanopillar assay demonstrated a high degree of specificity and sensitivity, detecting cytokines down to 104 aM. Promisingly, this assay successfully detected cytokines in microscopically derived skin punch biopsy samples containing 13.84 µg to as little as 0.34 µg of total protein, revealing distinct cytokine profiles. The assay was also able to show the differences in cytokine levels between perilesional and lesional psoriasis skin samples. The high detection sensitivity of the digital SERS nanopillar assay, combined with cytokine profiling in biopsy samples, shows promise for sensitive immunological diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of inflammatory skin diseases.

Indexed as

CytokinesInflammationSkinSkin DiseasesBiopsyHumansImmunoassayPsoriasisSpectrum Analysis, RamanCytokinesinflammatory skin diseasesnanomedicinepsoriasissingle molecule detectionsurface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Identifiers

PMID42124321
PMCPMC13353872

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.