Tamagawa-Mineoka Risa, Katoh Norito, Ueda Eiichiro, Masuda Koji, Kishimoto Saburo
Department of Dermatology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
Allergol Int. 2008 Dec;57(4):391-6. doi: 10.2332/allergolint.O-08-537. Epub 2008 Dec 1.
Beyond their role in hemostasis and thrombosis, platelets are important for modulating inflammatory reactions. Activated platelets play a role in the pathomechanism of inflammatory diseases such as asthma, but little is known about platelet activation in chronic skin inflammation, including atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis. Furthermore, the relationship between platelet activation and disease severity is not understood. This work was performed to investigate plasma levels of beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG) and platelet factor 4 (PF4) as platelet activation markers in patients with AD or psoriasis, and to determine the relationships between these markers and disease severity.
Plasma levels of beta-TG and PF4 were measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay in 22 healthy controls, 44 patients with AD, and 16 patients with psoriasis. The relationships between these markers and the scoring AD (SCORAD) index, blood eosinophilia, serum IgE and serum lactate dehydrogenase were investigated in AD patients, and relationships with the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score were examined in psoriatic patients.
Plasma beta-TG and PF4 levels were significantly higher in patients with AD or psoriasis compared with healthy controls. beta-TG and PF4 levels correlated with the SCORAD index, and PF4 levels correlated with PASI scores. Elevated beta-TG and PF4 levels were significantly reduced after treatments.
Our results show that blood platelets are activated in patients with AD or psoriasis, suggesting that activated platelets play a role in the pathomechanism of chronic skin inflammation. Furthermore, plasma beta-TG and PF4 may be markers for the severity of AD and psoriasis.
血小板除了在止血和血栓形成中发挥作用外，对于调节炎症反应也很重要。活化的血小板在哮喘等炎症性疾病的发病机制中起作用，但对于慢性皮肤炎症（包括特应性皮炎（AD）和银屑病）中的血小板活化情况知之甚少。此外，血小板活化与疾病严重程度之间的关系尚不清楚。本研究旨在调查AD或银屑病患者血浆中β-血小板球蛋白（β-TG）和血小板因子4（PF4）作为血小板活化标志物的水平，并确定这些标志物与疾病严重程度之间的关系。
采用酶联免疫吸附测定法测量22名健康对照者、44名AD患者和16名银屑病患者血浆中β-TG和PF4的水平。在AD患者中研究这些标志物与AD评分（SCORAD）指数、血液嗜酸性粒细胞增多、血清IgE和血清乳酸脱氢酶之间的关系，在银屑病患者中检查其与银屑病面积和严重程度指数（PASI）评分的关系。
与健康对照者相比，AD或银屑病患者血浆β-TG和PF4水平显著升高。β-TG和PF4水平与SCORAD指数相关，PF4水平与PASI评分相关。治疗后升高的β-TG和PF4水平显著降低。
我们的结果表明，AD或银屑病患者的血小板被激活，提示活化的血小板在慢性皮肤炎症的发病机制中起作用。此外，血浆β-TG和PF4可能是AD和银屑病严重程度的标志物。
