Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 22, 2026
Lymphocyte Isolation from Human Skin for Phenotypic Analysis and Ex Vivo Cell Culture
Published on: April 8, 2016
Increased HIF-1 alpha immunostaining in psoriasis compared to psoriasiform dermatitides
Maria Ioannou1, Fani Sourli, Ilias Mylonis
1Department of Pathology, Medical School, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece.
Background:
Expression of hypoxia inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) alpha can be linked to inflammation through reciprocal interactions with several cytokines. This finding is in accordance with the previously noted HIF-1 alpha overexpression in psoriatic lesional keratinocytes.
Methods:
In this study we have employed a carefully selected panel of antibodies and quantitative morphometric analysis to compare HIF-1 alpha immunoreactivity in psoriatic biopsy samples vs. that in samples obtained from psoriasiform dermatitides.
Results:
We found statistically significant HIF-1 alpha overexpression in psoriasis. Furthermore, we observed a previously unreported preferential localization of immunoreactive keratinocytes in the immediate vicinity of inflamed and elongated papillae. This pattern of immunoreactivity may partially account for the observed increase of HIF-1 alpha immunostaining in psoriasis.
Conclusions:
Overall, our findings imply that possible novel therapeutic intervention(s) on the HIF-1 alpha pathway may offer another approach in controlling the inflammatory activity of psoriatic lesions.
