Background: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. It is characterized by immune cell activation and altered epidermal differentiation. S100A7 (psoriasin) is overexpressed in psoriasis, suggesting a determinant role of this protein in inflammation and keratinocyte differentiation.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of S100A7 in the skin from psoriatic patients undergoing biological therapy with adalimumab, etanercept or ustekinumab.
Methods: S100A7 expression and distribution were analyzed by immunohistochemistry.
Results: S100A7, overexpressed in epidermal keratinocytes of psoriatic lesions, was downregulated, under the biological therapy with adalimumab, etanercept or ustekinumab, only in patients achieving a PASI score<15.
Conclusions: Dysregulation of S100A7 may represent a non-negligible player in the maintenance of psoriasis and the relative epidermal changes. Blockage of S100A7 may represent an additional therapeutic approach in the treatment of psoriasis.
Keywords: Biological therapy; IL-12/-23p40; Psoriasin; Psoriasis; S100A7; TNF.
Copyright © 2015 Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.