Background: Irisin has been proposed to regulate metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes or metabolic syndrome which are common comorbidities in psoriasis.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum irisin level in psoriasis and elucidate possible associations with disease activity, inflammatory or metabolic parameters and topical treatment.
Methods: Thirty-seven individuals with active plaque-type psoriasis and 15 healthy controls were enrolled. Blood samples were collected before and after two weeks of therapy. Serum irisin concentrations were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results were correlated with psoriasis area and severity index (PASI), body mass index (BMI), inflammatory and biochemical markers, lipid profile and effectiveness of topical treatment.
Results: Irisin serum levels were insignificantly increased in psoriatic patients in comparison to the controls (p = 0.38). No significant correlations between investigated adipokine and several indicators of metabolic disorders, nor BMI (p = 0.37) or PASI (p = 0.5) were found. Significant positive correlations with C-reactive protein (CRP) (0.009), lipocalin-2 (p = 0.02), age (p = 0.02) and disease duration (p = 0.008) were noted. After topical treatment, serum irisin level did not significantly change (p = 0.31), despite clinical improvement.
Conclusions: Irisin might be a marker of inflammation in psoriatic patients, but may not be a reliable indicator of metabolic conditions, severity of psoriasis nor efficacy of antipsoriatic treatment.
Keywords: Psoriasis; anthralin; irisin; myokine; obesity.