Clinical Transcriptomics in Systemic Vasculitis (CUTIS)

This study employs a multi-center approach to evaluate cutaneous vasculitis across several forms of idiopathic vasculitis. Patients with cutaneous manifestations of vasculitis will be evaluated by teams of primary vasculitis care providers and Dermatologists in order to facilitate optimal selection of patients and sampling of lesions. A punch skin biopsy at a site of active vasculitis will be the source of material for histopathologic and transcriptomic evaluation. The histopathology of cutaneous vasculitis will be characterized using a standardized, systematic approach. This approach includes a detailed description of abnormalities and extensive immunophenotyping of cell populations in the epidermal, dermal, and subcutaneous layers of skin. In addition to histologic description, skin biopsy material will be used a source of RNA for whole-genome gene expression profiling studies. Differential gene expression comparisons will be made across types of vasculitis. Disease-agnostic computational approaches will be used to discover novel ways to classify subgroups based upon global and specific patterns of gene expression. Additional samples will be collected (whole blood RNA, DNA) for potential secondary studies.