The female-biased factor VGLL3 drives cutaneous and systemic autoimmunity: RNA-seq analysis of the K5-Vgll3 transgenic mouse model of cutaneous and systemic lupus

RNA-seq analysis of nonlesional skin, whole blood, and cultured primary keratinocytes of wild-type and autoimmunity-prone K5-Vgll3 mice, which overexpress the female-biased transcription cofactor VGLL3 in the epidermis and develop a progressive lupus-like rash and systemic autoimmune disease with features of systemic lupus erythematosus. These skin and blood data demonstrate that skin-directed overexpression of VGLL3 results in gene expression changes strikingly similar to those seen in skin and blood of patients with cutaneous and systemic lupus, respectively. Overall design: RNA-seq analysis of nonlesional skin and whole blood from 4 age- and sex-matched wild-type and transgenic K5-VGLL3 mice and of primary keratinocytes isolated from tails of 3 wild-type and 3 transgenic K5-VGLL3 23-day-old littermates