Accumulation of urinary cancer-related glycoprotein, EDCl, in psoriasis

EDCl is a novel glycoprotein, mol wt 27,000, isolated in 1976 from leukemic urine. It inhibits the serine proteases trypsin and chymotrypsin and is antigenically related to interalpha trypsin inhibitor (IATI), mol wt 170,000, a normal plasma antiprotease. Since psoriasis is a non neoplastic hyperproliferative state, we have now measured EDCl by a specific radioimmunoassay (RIA) in plasma and urine of 24 untreated psoriatic patients. EDCl was not detectable in normal urine (less than 1 mg/gm creatinine) or plasma (less than 1 mg/L). 55% of psoriatic urine specimens were positive by RIA, containing 8 to 110 mg/gm creatinine. 75% of plasmas were positive, containing 12 to 32 mg/L. Plasma and urine contents of EDCl were significantly (P less than .05) correlated with severity of clinical disease (% skin involved) but not with age, sex, distribution or type of lesion, family history or arthritis.