Circulating proinflammatory cytokines alter transcriptional activity within fibrotic tissue of Dupuytren's disease patients

In this project, we have utilized blood and tissue samples from patients with Dupuytren's disease (DD), a common fibroproliferative disorder of the hand, to identify increased circulating proinflammatory cytokines and assess alterations in the tissue using RNAseq and FTIR analysis. Our results indicate that specific cytokines in circulation play a direct role in local disease progression and may be useful for prospective identification of patients at risk for disease progression or recurrence as well as the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Furthermore, these results help to mechanistically link the well understood association of DD with chronic low-grade inflammatory states. Overall design: RNA sequencing of tissue from patients with Dupuytren's disease