research
Inflammatory cytokines and their receptors in psoriatic skin : emphasis on the epidermal interleukin 1 system
- Publication date
- 29 May 1996
- Publisher
- Nearly two centuries have passed since the first accurate description of
psoriasis by Wilan in the year 1808. Psoriasis is a common, well-defined
skin disease featuring the interplay of genetic, environmental, and immunological
factors. Extensive reviews on psoriasis are given elsewhere. Despite
numerous reports, the exact etiology is still unknown. Moreover, 70 % of
psoriatic patients are not satisfied with the currently available anti-psoriatic
treatments (Gottlieb AB, oral presentation, Psoriasis Meeting, Dec 4-5 1995,
Lake Buena Vista, FL), which stresses the contemporary societal interest of
psoriasis research.
Recent studies have identified a dysregulated crosstalk between resident
skin cells and infiltrating leukocytes in psoriasis. Several lines of evidence
point to the cytokine interleukin 1 (IL-l) as an integral component of the
cellular immune basis of psoriasis. The regulation of cytokine activity in
general, and that of epidermal IL-l in particular, is described in chapter 1.1.
Skin as a site of immune responses, exemplified by the cutaneous inflammatory
response, is described in chapter 1.2. Finally, the cellular
immunopathogenesis of psoriasis, with special emphasis on IL-l, is reviewed
in chapter 1.3.