Roles of hypoxia in the pathogenesis of psoriasis

Psoriasis is a kind of skin disease mainly characterized by squamous erythema, papules and plaques. Like tumor tissue, psoriatic lesions show keratinocyte overproliferation and regional hypoxia. Hypoxia can promote the infiltration of inflammatory cells, proliferation of epidermal cells and vascularization by increasing expressions of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α)and its related genes, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), nitric oxide synthase (NOS), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), nerve growth factor (NGF), histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1), cathelicidin LL37, and so on. Hypoxia also can enhance glycolysis via upregulating expressions of relevant enzymes in keratinocytes, so as to meet energy requirements of rapid cell proliferation. Key words: Psoriasis; Anoxia; HIF-1α; Nitric oxide; Targeted gene