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Acitretin exerted a greater influence on T ‐helper ( T h)1 and T h17 than on T h2 cells in treatment of psoriasis vulgaris
Author(s) -
NIU Xinwu,
CAO Wei,
MA Huiqun,
FENG Jie,
LI Ximei,
ZHANG Xinhua
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1346-8138
pISSN - 0385-2407
DOI - 10.1111/j.1346-8138.2012.01637.x
Subject(s) - acitretin , psoriasis , interleukin 23 , medicine , interleukin 17 , immunology , interleukin , in situ hybridization , messenger rna , microbiology and biotechnology , dermatology , cytokine , biology , biochemistry , gene
T ‐helper ( T h) cells, including T h1, T h2 and T h17 cells, may play an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis vulgaris ( PV ). Acitretin is an effective treatment for PV ; however, its influence on T h cells during the treatment of PV is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the influence of acitretin on T h1, T h2 and T h17 cells in PV patients. PV patients ( n = 30) received acitretin p.o. (20 mg/day) for 8 weeks. Sera and skin biopsies were obtained before and after treatment. Double‐labeled immunofluorescence was used to analyze T , T h1, T h2 and T h17 cells in skin lesions. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and western blot were used to analyze the expressions of interferon ( IFN) ‐γ, interleukin ( IL )‐4 and IL ‐17 in sera and skin lesions. The expressions of IFN ‐γ mRNA , IL ‐4 mRNA and IL ‐17 mRNA in skin lesions were detected by in situ hybridization. Acitretin decreased the quantity of T , T h1 and T h17 cells in PV lesions, but had no significant influence on T h2 cells. Acitretin also decreased the expression of IFN ‐γ and IL ‐17 in serum and lesions. The expressions of IFN ‐γ mRNA and IL ‐17 mRNA decreased significantly after 8 weeks of therapy. However, acitretin had no significant influence on the expression of IL ‐4 protein and mRNA . Acitretin can reverse T h1 and T h17 preponderance in PV patients to some degree. This may be due to the mechanism of acitretin on PV ; however, T h2 cells were not affected by acitretin treatment.