A preliminary study of soluble CD14 levels in the serum of patients with hidradenitis suppurativa as a marker of “leaky gut”

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by recurring inflammatory lesions resulting from the rupture of occluded hair follicles. The aetiology of this disease is poorly understood, but it is clear that numerous immunological pathways are dysregulated, both locally and systemically. It is also increasingly appreciated that the gut and skin microbiomes of HS patients are deleteriously altered. Several lines of evidence indicate that this may lead to a “leaky gut” in HS patients, including the strong prevalence of Crohn’s disease as a co-morbidity, resulting in excessive bacterial translocation and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) circulation. Methods: We sought to investigate whether soluble CD14, a proxy for circulating LPS and subsequent excessive monocyte activation, was elevated in the serum of HS patients. sCD14 levels in HS patients from a Dublin hospital were assessed using ELISA. Results: We found that there was no significant difference in sCD14 levels present in the plasma of 12 healthy controls and 17 HS patients. Conclusions: Our results indicate that sCD14 is not a useful marker of inflammation in HS patients and does not indicate a grossly compromised gut epithelial barrier.