Abnormal maturation pathway of keratinocytes in psoriatic skin

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The maturation pathway of normal and psoriatic epidermis were compared using 3 different markers: Involucrin, which is normally detected in the stratum granulosum in normal skin, was detected in all but the basal layer of involved psoriatic skin; an antigen, recognized by the murine monoclonal antibody .psi.3, was present in all but the basal layer of involved psoriatic skin but was absent from uninvolved and normal skin; and fibronectin, which normally localizes in the dermis and the epidermal-dermal junction, was also detected intracellularly and extracellularly in the psoriatic epidermis. The alterations in keratinocyte maturation found in psoriasis apparently do not arise from a truncation of the normal maturation pathway but rather reflect the onset of an abnormal pathway of differentiation characterized by the expression of .psi.3 antigen and fibronectin and the premature appearance of involucrin.