The keratin polypeptides of psoriatic epidermis.

The polyacrylamide SDS electrophoretic pattern of protein extracted from the stratum corneum obtained by scraping the surface of involved skin of patients with psoriasis was different from that of uninvolved skin and normal controls. The pattern from superficial scales was similar to that of whole stratum corneum in the case of involved psoriatic epidermis but different in uninvolved and normal epidermis. These data indicate that the changes which are observed in the structural proteins during normal keratinization are not seen in involved psoriatic epidermis. In addition, the relative proportion of keratin polypeptides was different in involved psoriatic epidermis compared to normal skin. That these changes are not specific for psoriasis was shown by finding similar electrophoretic patterns with stratum corneum proteins from patients with other keratinizing disorders.