Expression of CCR5 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with psoriasis

Objective To investigate the expression of CCR5 in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs) in patients with psoriasis and the correlation between CCR5 expression and psoriasis area and severity index(PASI).Methods PBMCs were isolated from 35 moderate to severe psoriasis patients and 30 health control.Expression of CCR5 mRNA and the rate of CCR5 positive cells on PBMC before and after culture was respectively detected by RT-PCR and immunofluorescence marker flow cytometry.Results CCR5 mRNA level in PBMCs from untreated psoriasis patients was higher than those in treated patients and normal controls.CCR5 mRNA expression was positively correlated with PASI(r=0.516,P0.05).Conclusion Our study suggests that CCR5 may be involved in the pathogenesis of the progression of psoriasis by activating and aggregating mononuclear cells into psoriasis lesions.