Barrier proteins and eosinophilic esophagitis in children: the role of E-cadherin and filaggrin

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the protein expression of E-cadherin and filaggrin (FLG) in the oesophagus of paediatric and adolescent patients diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). It is a cross-sectional study conducted with 24 patients with EoE and 17 control patients, from June 2015 to June 2018. The histological analyses were performed by a trained pathologist. The protein expression of E-cadherin and FLG in oesophageal biopsy fragments was determined using an immunohistochemical technique. The epidemiological data were retrieved from medical records. There were no statistical differences in age and sex between case-patients and control patients. Food allergy was significantly higher in patients with EoE, as was the number of eosinophils present in the oesophageal biopsy materials. The immunohistochemical studies did not indicate FLG expression in any patient from the two groups. E-cadherin showed significantly reduced expression in patients with EoE. We concluded that FLG did not seem to play an important role in the mucosal alteration in EoE and that E-cadherin under expression could be a promising marker of epithelial damage in these patients.