Thymus and activation‐regulated chemokine (TARC) in patients with psoriasis: Increased serum TARC levels in patients with generalized pustular psoriasis

Abstract

Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) is designated as a T-helper 2-type chemokine and its expression is upregulated in patients with atopic dermatitis. Previous studies reported that serum TARC levels in patients with psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) were comparable with those in healthy controls. However, the association of clinical severity of psoriasis with serum TARC levels and serum TARC levels in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) have never been reported. We investigated the association of serum TARC level with psoriasis by the type of psoriasis, and examine correlations of serum TARC levels with clinical severity scores and other results of blood tests. Data on 75 patients (51 men and 24 women; PsV, 30 patients; PsA, 29 patients; GPP, 16 patients) were analyzed. The serum TARC level was significantly higher in patients with GPP than in patients with PsV and patients with PsA. There was a positive correlation between serum TARC level and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score (r = 0.3499, P = 0.0030). The serum TARC levels decreased after treatment in GPP patients. Our study revealed that the serum TARC level can potentially be one of the biomarkers reflecting the severity or systemic inflammation caused by psoriasis in patients with psoriasis, although not as much as in patients with atopic dermatitis. Furthermore, serum TARC levels were high in patients with GPP. Those were decreased by treatment, suggesting that serum TARC levels could be utilized as an objective biomarker to evaluate a therapeutic effect in individual GPP patients. Further accumulation of cases and further research are needed to elucidate the role of TARC in psoriasis.

Bath Psoralen Plus UVA Therapy Suppresses Keratinocyte-Derived Chemokines in Pathogenetically Relevant Cells

“…CCL17, a CCR4 ligand expressed in Th2 cells, is a well-known biomarker for atopic dermatitis (AD) that is widely used in clinical practice ( Kakinuma et al., 2001 ). Our results were consistent with recent reports indicating that serum CCL17 levels in patients with psoriasis (especially those with pustular psoriasis) correlated with the PASI score ( Kawasaki et al., 2020 ; Shibuya et al., 2018 ). CCL19 is assumed to be produced in DCs in psoriasis and induces DCs and T cells to form lymphoid tissue in psoriatic lesions ( Mitsui et al., 2012 ).…”

“…Neutrophil count positively correlated with the PASI score (r = 0.572) and serum CCL17 (r = 0.672) and CXCL1 (r = 0.588) levels. The correlation between neutrophil count and serum CCL17 levels is consistent with recently reported findings ( Kawasaki et al., 2020 ). Serum levels of the 22 chemokines evaluated did not correlate with lymphocyte or eosinophil count.…”

“…CCL17, a CCR4 ligand expressed in Th2 cells, is a well-known biomarker for atopic dermatitis (Kakinuma et al, 2001). Serum CCL17 levels in psoriasis patients (especially those with pustular psoriasis) correlate with the PASI score (Kawasaki et al, 2020;Shibuya et al, 2018). Immunohistologic staining showed that epidermal keratinocytes in skin biopsy tissues obtained from psoriasis patients are slightly positive for CCL17, but not at the same level as in atopic dermatitis (Kakinuma et al, 2001), and CCL17 mRNA expression is increased in psoriasis lesions compared with non-lesional areas (Rottman et al, 2001).…”

Molecular Pathogenesis of Psoriasis and Biomarkers Reflecting Disease Activity

“…Details of the induction mechanism of TARC remain unclear, but this process may involve the plasticity of immune cells. In addition, serum levels are higher in cases of generalized pustular psoriasis compared to cases of plaque-type psoriasis, suggesting a relationship with psoriasis severity [ 134 ].…”

Diagnostic Tools and Biomarkers for Severe Drug Eruptions

“…Twelve patients with DRESS/DIHS, 18 patients with maculopapular exanthema, and 46 patients with erythema multiforme were enrolled and SJS/TEN patients were eliminated from this study, indicating that TARC might not reflect the actual severity of drug eruption. In addition, TARC is not specific in drug eruption and is also increased in other inflammatory skin diseases, such as atopic dermatitis [ 65 , 68 ] and psoriasis [ 69 ].…”