Studies on the phagocytic activity of the granulocytes in psoriasis and palmoplantar pustulosis

Abstract
A kinetic method was used to determine the rates of phagocytosis of IgG-coated and [complement] C3b-IgG-coated latex particles by neutrophil granulocytes from 20 patients with psoriasis and 20 with palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP). Patients with psoriasis showed a highly increased rate of uptake of IgG-coated particles. An increased rate was also observed in patients with PPP. These results indicate enhanced Fc-receptor function. In healthy controls the uptake rate of C3b-IgG-coated particles was at least 30% higher than that of particles coated iwth IgG alone. In .apprx. 1/2 of the patients in the psoriasis and PPP groups the uptake rate failed to increase in the normal way, indicating that C3b dysfunction is common in both psoriasis and PPP. In neither group was there any relationship between the rate of phagocytosis and the clinical severity of the disease.