Treatment of recalcitrant pustular psoriasis with infliximab:: effective reduction of chemokine expression

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is thought to play a major role in the pathophysiology of psoriasis. Good clinical responses of psoriasis to anti-TNF-alpha-based therapies have recently been demonstrated. We studied the effect of infliximab, a monoclonal antibody against TNF-alpha, on chemokine expression in pustular psoriasis. A 61-year-old man with a 2-year history of severe pustular psoriasis of von Zumbusch type who did not respond to conventional therapies responded rapidly to treatment with infliximab. The clinical response was reflected by an immediate and effective reduction of the neutrophil-attractant chemokines interleukin (IL)-8 and growth-related oncogene (Gro)-alpha as well as of monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, as determined by mRNA in situ hybridization of lesional skin. No expression before or after treatment was seen for monokine induced by interferon (IFN)-gamma (MIG) and IFN-inducible protein (IP)-10. Thus, in pustular psoriasis the chemokine expression pattern is dominated by neutrophil-attractant chemokines and MCP-1 while, in contrast to plaque psoriasis, IFN-gamma-inducible lymphocyte-attractant chemokines such as IP-10 and MIG are not abundant. We conclude that anti-TNF-alpha treatment with infliximab is an effective therapy in severe pustular psoriasis which is reflected by downregulation of disease-promoting chemokines such as IL-8, Gro-alpha and MCP-1.