Predominant usage of distinct T‐cell receptor Vβ regions by epidermotropic T cells in psoriasis

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Abstract
To investigate the role of T cells in psoriasis, we analyzed the T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) and in skin lesions of 9 patients with chronic plaque-stage psoriasis by means of immunohistochemistry. An extended panel of monoclonal antibodies detecting 11 different V(3 families was employed in this study. In the peripheral blood, no predominant TCR Vβ expression was detected and interindividual differences were small. Skin-infiltrating T cells showed only marginal differences in the TCR Vβ usage when compared with PBLs. However, in 3 patients the intraepidermal infiltrate comprised up to 40% of T cells expressing a TCR Vβ region which was virtually absent in the peripheral blood and the dermal infiltrate. Thus, although the TCR Vβ usage of skin-infiltrating T cells showed little difference compared to PBLs, several cases exhibited a significant increase of epider-motrophie T cells using one particular Vβ region.