[Immunomorphological and histochemical characteristics of the skin in psoriasis].

Immunomorphologic and histochemical studies of the skin biopsies withdrawn from patients with psoriasis revealed injury to all the structures of both the epidermis and dermis. Of importance is the immune injury to the microcirculatory bed of the skin, associated with sedimentation of immune complexes, IgA, IgG and C-3 component of the complement on vascular walls, endothelial cells and fibrillar structures of the connective tissue. The inflammatory process involving largely the papillary layer of the dermis is accompanied by increased dermoepidermal permeability with a resultant injury to the epidermis, and by sedimentation of the complexes antigen-antibody and complement in the intercellular spaces of granular and horny layers of the capillaries. These data indicate the participation of the immunopathologic reactions in skin injury produced by psoriasis and their implication in the maintenance of the pathologic process in further disease progress.