Effects of narrow-band ultraviolet B on expression of IL-23/IL-17 axis and efficacy in patients with psoriasis vulgaris

Objective To observe clinical efficacy of NB-UVB in treating psoriasis vulgaris and its effects on expression of serum interleukin-17 (IL-17),interleukin-23 (IL-23) and interleukin-22 (IL-22) in patients with psoriasis vulgaris,and to study the underlying mechanisms of NB-UVB.Methods Ninety patients were recruited and treated with NB-UVB therapy for 8 weeks.Before and after treatment,the serum level of IL-17,IL-23,IL-22,interleukin-l0(IL-10) and transforming growth factor(TGF-β) were tested by use of ELISA method,meanwhile Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) were used to evaluate clinical efficacy.Fifty healthy volunteers were selected as control group.Results Compared to healthy controls,the level of serum IL-17,IL-23 and IL-22 was significantly higher in patients with psoriasis vulgris (P ＜ 0.01),and IL-10,TGF-β shown lower expression in psoriasis patients (P ＜ 0.01).After 8 weeks of treatment with NB-UVB,serum levels of IL-17,IL-23 and IL-22 in psoriasis patients decreased significantly (P ＜ 0.01),while IL-10,TGF-βelevated significantly (P ＜ 0.01) in contrast.The Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) results indicated significantly clinical improvement after therapy,and the total effective rate was 87.78％.Conclusion NB-UVB could down-regulate serum IL-17,IL-23,IL-22 and up-regulate IL-10,TGF-β,which may help regulate imbalance of T lymphocytes cells of psoriasis patients.The clinical data demonstrate that the treatment of NB-UVB is a safe,effective method for psoriasis vulgaris. Key words: Psoriasis; Ultraviolet therapy; Interleukin