Department of Dermatology, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Exp Dermatol. 2013 Jun;22(6):406-10. doi: 10.1111/exd.12162.
Investigations about prevalence of obesity in psoriasis patients are increased nowadays. Higher serum levels of leptin in patients with psoriasis who are overweight or obese suggest that leptin may serve as a molecular link between psoriasis and metabolic comorbidities. However, the pathological functions of leptin in psoriasis are not clearly understood. We investigated the influence of being overweight or obese on the risk of psoriasis, and the relationship between serum leptin levels and the severity of psoriasis in Chinese Han patients. We also investigated biological effects of leptin on the proliferation and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines by human keratinocytes in vitro. Obesity was a significant risk factor for psoriasis in the Chinese Han population; however, we did not observe a significant correlation between Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and body mass index (BMI). We observed a positive correlation between the serum leptin level and PASI in overweight and obese male patients with psoriasis. Strong leptin immunoreactivity was detected in the epidermis of psoriatic lesions, particularly in keratinocytes. Leptin significantly increased the proliferation and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines by keratinocytes in vitro. In conclusion, this study suggests leptin as a novel molecular link between psoriasis and obesity, which may help to explain the more server conditions of psoriasis in patients with obesity.
目前，有关银屑病患者肥胖患病率的研究日益增多。超重或肥胖的银屑病患者血清瘦素水平升高，表明瘦素可能是银屑病与代谢合并症之间的分子联系。然而，瘦素在银屑病中的病理功能尚不清楚。我们研究了超重或肥胖对汉族银屑病患者发病风险的影响，以及血清瘦素水平与银屑病严重程度之间的关系。我们还研究了瘦素对体外人角质形成细胞增殖和促炎细胞因子分泌的生物学作用。肥胖是汉族人群银屑病的一个重要危险因素；然而，我们没有观察到银屑病面积和严重程度指数（PASI）与体重指数（BMI）之间存在显著相关性。我们观察到超重和肥胖的男性银屑病患者血清瘦素水平与 PASI 呈正相关。在银屑病皮损的表皮中，尤其是在角质形成细胞中，检测到强烈的瘦素免疫反应性。瘦素显著增加了体外角质形成细胞促炎细胞因子的增殖和分泌。总之，这项研究表明瘦素是银屑病和肥胖之间的新的分子联系，这可能有助于解释肥胖患者银屑病更严重的情况。
