Interleukin 36 gamma in psoriasis patients: an immunohistochemical study

Background Psoriasis is a common inflammatory skin disorder in which immunity plays an important role. Objective To investigate the role of interleukin 36 gamma (IL-36γ) in psoriasis through evaluation of its immunohistochemical expression in lesional skin biopsies of psoriatic patients. Patients and method Forty psoriatic patients and 20 controls were included in this case–control study. Psoriasis area severity index score was used to evaluate psoriasis severity. Skin biopsies were taken from both groups and were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemically with IL-36γ monoclonal antibody stain. Results In psoriasis patients, IL-36γ was strongly expressed (more than or equal to four layers) in the nuclei of the suprabasal epidermal keratinocytes, whereas in all controls, weak cytoplasmic expression was noticed in the basal layer only (100%) (P 0.001). Strong IL-36γ expression in psoriasis was significantly associated with psoriasis severity (P =0.043). Conclusion IL-36γ may serve as an active participant in psoriasis etiopathogenesis. In addition, it may be a target for immunotherapy in the psoriasis management program.