Korean J Dermatol.  2020 Aug;58(7):465-471.

Correlation of Serum Inflammatory Cytokine Levels with Clinical Characteristics Including Severity in Korean Patients with Psoriasis

• Kim JC
• Lee H
• Cho SY
• Park MJ
• Lee ES

Abstract

Background
Psoriasis is a chronic relapsing inflammatory disease, with several cytokines related to its pathophysiology and clinical manifestations, such as disease activity, severity, and clinical subtype. However, there is limited information regarding Korean psoriasis patients.
Objective
We investigated the association between serum inflammatory cytokines and clinical characteristics of psoriasis, including treatment modalities.
Methods
We evaluated the serum Th17-related cytokine levels of 70 patients diagnosed with psoriasis using a multiplex immunoassay. All clinical information of patients was collected by reviewing electronic medical records and photo documentation in a retrospective manner.
Results
The serum IL-23 level was significantly higher in the young age group (＜40 years), and the IL-6, TNFβ, and IL-28A levels were significantly higher in the early onset group (＜40 years). In addition, patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis (PASI≥10 and body surface area ≥10%) exhibited significantly lower serum IL-28A levels. We observed high serum TNF-α and CCL20 levels in patients with metabolic comorbidities and those with psoriatic arthritis, respectively, and biologics use and systemic treatment modality were also significantly associated with the serum levels of some cytokines.
Conclusion
Disease severity, comorbidities, presence of psoriatic arthritis, and treatment responsiveness might affect the inflammatory cytokine levels in psoriasis patients. Therefore, the serum cytokine levels can be used to predict the severity or treatment responsiveness of psoriasis patients.

Keyword

Cytokine; Psoriasis; Psoriasis area and severity index; Severity