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Published on: April 8, 2016

High expression levels of keratinocyte antimicrobial proteins in psoriasis compared with atopic dermatitis

Gys J de Jongh1, Patrick L J M Zeeuwen, Martina Kucharekova

  • 1Department of Dermatology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology
|December 16, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Psoriatic skin shows higher levels of antimicrobial peptides than atopic dermatitis skin. This difference in host defense proteins is specific to these molecules and not related to epidermal proliferation.

Area of Science:

  • Dermatology
  • Immunology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Lesional skin in atopic dermatitis (AD) exhibits lower antimicrobial peptide (AMP) levels compared to psoriasis.
  • The specificity and breadth of this phenomenon across host defense proteins require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the expression of host defense proteins in lesional skin of chronic plaque psoriasis and chronic atopic dermatitis patients.
  • To determine if the observed differences in AMPs are specific to this class of molecules.

Main Methods:

  • Microarray analysis of mRNA from purified lesional epidermal cells of psoriasis and AD patients.
  • Validation of microarray data using quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry for selected genes and proteins.

Main Results:

  • Keratinocytes in psoriatic skin overexpress numerous antimicrobial proteins compared to AD skin.
  • Epidermal differentiation and proliferation markers are expressed at similar levels in both psoriasis and AD chronic lesions.
  • A significant difference in host defense protein expression exists between psoriatic and AD epidermis.

Conclusions:

  • Psoriatic epidermis demonstrates elevated levels of host defense proteins relative to atopic dermatitis epidermis.
  • This overexpression phenomenon appears specific to antimicrobial proteins.
  • Future research should explore genetic factors or cellular infiltrate differences contributing to these findings.

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