Transcriptomic profiling reveals distinct molecular signatures among lesion types in hidradenitis suppurativa.

Introduction: Hidradenitis suppurativa is a painful inflammatory disease characterised by diverse cutaneous lesions that exhibit distinct clinical morphologies. The study aimed to examine the transcriptome of the various hidradenitis suppurativa lesion types. Methods: Transcriptomic analyses were performed using bulk RNA sequencing to examine the various lesion types, including draining tunnels, inflammatory nodules, non-draining tunnels, non-lesional skin from patients with hidradenitis suppurativa and normal skin from healthy individuals. Results/discussion: Principal component and differential expression analyses revealed that these different lesion types exhibit distinct expression profiles while sharing common transcriptional features. Enrichment analysis of exclusively differentially expressed genes for each lesion type showed increased antigen presentation and cytotoxic T cell response in inflammatory nodules, including genes such as Conclusion: Distinct molecular signatures specific for each lesion type were identified, which may reflect differences in molecular mechanisms. These findings underscore the importance of distinguishing between lesion types in translational and clinical studies.