Decreased protein kinase C activity in psoriatic versus normal epidermis

To study the possible involvement of protein kinase C in psoriasis, we determined the activity of this enzyme in involved and uninvolved epidermis from psoriasis patients as well as in normal epidermis from controls. Protein kinase C activity was measured in the 100,000 g supernatants and in the detergent-solubilized particulate fractions of tissue homogenates after partial purification by DEAE-cellulose chromatography. The total enzyme activities per gram protein for normal, involved, and uninvolved epidermis were 127 +/- 11.9 mU/g, 64.7 +/- 8.6 mU/g, and 88.5 +/- 14.4 mU/g, respectively. The respective values for total enzyme activity per mg DNA were 7.04 +/- 0.48 mU/mg, 4.28 +/- 0.54 mU/mg, and 5.02 +/- 0.66 mU/mg. By both data bases, protein kinase C activity was statistically lower in the psoriatic skin biopsies than in those from control persons, whereas no significant difference was found between involved and uninvolved epidermis from psoriasis patients. We hypothesize that alterations in protein kinase C-mediated processes due to decreased protein kinase C activity may play a significant role in the pathophysiology of psoriasis.