Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Dermatology and Venerology

Background: Although it is now considered a prototypic Th1/Th17-mediated disease, several gaps still exist in our understanding of the pathogenesis of psoriasis. IL-27 is a novel cytokine of the IL-12 family. Research on IL-27 uncovered its pleiotropic rolein the differentiation and function of distinct T-cell subsets. Previous studies have proposed that IL-27 may be involved in the complex pathogenesis of psoriasis. Objective: Our aim is tostudy the expression of IL-27 inpatients with psoriasis in comparison to controls, and to assess its relation to clinical disease parameters. Methods: 25 psoriatic patients and 30 age, sex and skin type matched controls were included. Full clinical examination was done and both tissue and serum levels of IL-27 were measured by ELISA. Results:The mean IL-27 levels in both tissue and serum of psoriasis patients were significantly higher when compared to controls (P=<0.001, 0.005 respectively). We also detected a significant negative correlation between the patients{u2019} sera levels of IL-27 and disease severity, expressed in both PASI score and extent of the disease, (P=0.007, 0.002, r=-0.528, -0.600 respectively). Limitations: Small sample size Conclusion: Based on the findings of our study, it can be speculated that IL-27 can serve as a protective cytokine that is upregulated as a counter measure at the early stages of psoriasis initiation, but with increasing disease activity, this cytokine is suppressed; by a yet to be elucidated mechanism, giving way for pro-inflammatory responses to overwhelm and exacerbate the condition

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