Squamous Cell Carcinoma-related Antigen (SCCr-Ag), sICAM-1 and ?2-Microglobulin are Useful Markers of Disease Activity in Psoriasis

Abstract

Several published studies suggest the involvement of immune and inflammatory factors in psoriasis. We recently demonstrated that the number of circulating ICAM-1 + lymphocytes and the levels beta 2-microglobulin are useful parameters in monitoring the activity of the disease. In this study we investigated serum levels of SCCr-Ag in 24 patients with psoriasis in order to determine whether this antigen is a marker of disease activity. Our results demonstrated high serum levels of SCCr-Ag, IL-2, sIL-2R, sCD4, sCD8, sICAM-1 and beta 2-microglobulin in the acute phase of psoriasis. Furthermore, we found a positive correlation of SCC with TBSA, PASI score, sICAM-1 and beta 2-microglobulin. These data demonstrate that serum levels of SCCr-Ag depend on the severity of the disease and correlate with both immunological and inflammatory markers of disease activity. We suggest that expression of SCCr-Ag may be induced by cytokines in the microenvironment of psoriatic lesions, suggesting that SCC-Ag may play a role in the inflammatory process.