title: In situ localization of interleukin-1 in normal and psoriatic skin.
abstract: Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a family of polypeptides that mediates a wide range of inflammatory and immune responses. In human skin, unstimulated keratinocytes produce a large amount of such cytokines. Although the precise role of IL-1 in the skin is unknown, there is experimental evidence supporting involvement of IL-1 in the pathogenesis of inflammatory skin diseases. In this study, we investigated in situ localization of IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta in normal and psoriatic skin. Using polyclonal antibodies and the avidin-biotin peroxidase complex, we demonstrated the presence of both IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta in normal and psoriatic formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. In both cases, IL-1 alpha was more prominent. However, the distribution of IL-1 alpha differed between normal and psoriatic skin. In normal skin, IL-1 alpha distribution was predominantly intercellular, whereas IL-1 alpha distribution was predominantly within the cytoplasm in psoriatic skin. These studies confirm that IL-1 alpha is the predominant form of IL-1 in the skin and provide further support for the hypothesis that IL-1 participates in the pathogenesis of psoriasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: L I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikejima
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Pincus
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004306:Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic; D005260:Female; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000145:classification; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D012016:Reference Values; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D007375:Interleukin-1