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Updated: Mar 8, 2026

A Colorimetric Assay that Specifically Measures Granzyme B Proteolytic Activity: Hydrolysis of Boc-Ala-Ala-Asp-S-Bzl
Published on: November 28, 2014
Granzyme A potentiates chemokine production in IL-17-stimulated keratinocytes
Stanley Cheuk1, Elisa Martini1, Kerstin Bergh1
1Dermatology and Venereology Unit, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden.
Plaque psoriasis presents with focal skin inflammation, partially maintained by IL-17-mediated interactions between infiltrating epidermal T cells and activated keratinocytes. Here we show that the majority of lesional epidermal CD8 T cells express granzyme A, alone or in combination with IL-17. To assess proinflammatory properties of granzyme A in psoriasis, primary human keratinocytes were stimulated with granzyme A in the presence or absence of IL-17. Out of 33 analysed keratinocyte-derived inflammatory mediators, granzyme A potentiated IL-17-induced secretion of CXCL 1, CXCL 12 and CCL 4. Intriguingly, all three chemokines are implicated in psoriasis pathogenesis and are involved in recruitment of T cells, neutrophils and pDCs into inflamed tissues. Our results indicate that granzyme A produced by lesional CD8 T cells specifically increase the chemokine production from inflamed keratinocytes, thereby amplifying a chemotactic inflammatory loop that sustains psoriasis lesions.
Plaque psoriasis presents with focal skin inflammation, partially maintained by IL-17-mediated interactions between infiltrating epidermal T cells and activated keratinocytes. Here we show that the majority of lesional epidermal CD8 T cells express granzyme A, alone or in combination with IL-17. To assess proinflammatory properties of granzyme A in psoriasis, primary human keratinocytes were stimulated with granzyme A in the presence or absence of IL-17. Out of 33 analysed keratinocyte-derived inflammatory mediators, granzyme A potentiated IL-17-induced secretion of CXCL 1, CXCL 12 and CCL 4. Intriguingly, all three chemokines are implicated in psoriasis pathogenesis and are involved in recruitment of T cells, neutrophils and pDCs into inflamed tissues. Our results indicate that granzyme A produced by lesional CD8 T cells specifically increase the chemokine production from inflamed keratinocytes, thereby amplifying a chemotactic inflammatory loop that sustains psoriasis lesions.
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