Plasma and tissue chemerin levels and their relation to metabolic syndrome in patients with psoriasis

Background Chemerin is a newly identified adipokine known to stimulate chemotaxis of plasmacytoid dendritic cells and neutrophils and has been found to be strongly expressed in psoriatic lesions. High systemic chemerin level was considered as an independent marker of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and has been reported to be associated with an increased risk for psoriasis or with its increased severity. Objective The objective of this study was to investigate serum and tissue levels of chemerin in psoriatic patients and their possible relation to the metabolic status of these patients in order to identify a possible mechanism associating psoriasis and MetS. Patients and methods Plasma and tissue samples (lesional and nonlesional) from 20 patients with psoriasis and from 10 control individuals were collected for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The clinical significance of serum and tissue chemerin levels in patients compared with controls was analyzed in relation to metabolic disorders. Results Plasma and tissue levels, both lesional and nonlesional, of chemerin were significantly higher than those of controls (Po0.001 for each). Plasma chemerin levels correlated negatively with the duration of psoriasis (r= 0.517, P =0.02) but did not correlate with any of the predictors of cardiovascular disease. Conclusion High serum and tissue chemerin levels are predictable factors for the occurrence of psoriasis, yet they are not related to the presence of MetS or to any other risk factor of cardiovascular disease. High serum chemerin levels are associated with recent-onset psoriasis rather than with long-standing disease.