Role of E-cadherin in psoriasis

Background: Psoriasis is a common chronic autoimmune and inflammatory skin disease whose etiology and pathogenesis remain unclear. It is characterized by hyperproliferation and incomplete differentiation of epidermal keratinocytes, but the exact factors causing these changes are still unknown. E-cadherin is a cell adhesion transmembrane molecule that is required for the adhesive properties of keratinocytes and skin differentiation. Objective: The aim of the present work was to investigate the possible role of E-cadherin in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Patients and methods: The expression of E-cadherin was analyzed on skin biopsies of 25 patients presenting with psoriasis and 10 age-matched and sex-matched normal individuals (controls). Results: E-cadherin was expressed in all (100%) controls and in 18/25 (72%) psoriasis patients (P=0.08), with higher H scores of E-cadherin expression in normal skin (P=0.01). The controls showed a diffuse pattern of expression in all layers of the epidermis, whereas the majority of psoriasis patients (72.2%) showed focal staining of the spinous layer only (P
Source: Egyptian Journal of Pathology - Category: Pathology Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research