[Psoriasis vulgaris--unchanged endothelial reactivity with histochemical markers]

Frozen sections from psoriatic lesions were investigated regarding their reactivity with endothelial markers (UEA I, EEA I, LTA, Con A, factor VIII-related antigen). We compared the findings obtained with those of both uninvolved psoriatic skin and normal skin. Although all lectins showed altered epidermal binding in comparison to the controls, the endothelial lectin binding as well as the expression of factor VIII-related antigen were the same in both psoriatric lesions and controls. Our findings argue for (1) intact dimorphic genetic control of ABH expression in both epidermal and endothelial cells, (2) altered epidermal differentiation of lesional psoriatric skin, and (3) secondary vascular alterations.