Immunolabeling of skin biopsies indicated significantly higher levels of pSyk (P = 0.004), accompanied by an increased number of ASMA-positive interstitial cells (P = 0.0081), in SSc skin biopsies compared with those from individuals acting as healthy controls (Figure 4A), while there was no significant difference in TREM-1 levels (data not shown). Here, ACTA1 is linked to systemic sclerosis.