Abstract:

Objective To investigate the changes of IL-8 in peripheral blood of patients with pustular psoriasis after acitretin treatment. Methods Dual antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） was performed to measure the IL-8 levels in the peripheral blood of 30 patients with pustular psoriasis and 30 patients with psoriasis vulgaris before and after treatment, and in 30 normal human controls. The relationship between the IL-8 level and disease severity was assessed for patients with pustular psoriasis. Results After acitretin treatment, the condition was improved greatly in patients with pustular psoriasis, together with a significant decrease in the level of IL-8 in the peripheral blood （57.07 ± 12.02 pg/ml vs. 96.84 ± 14.68 pg/ml, P < 0.05）. Conclusion IL-8 may be involved in the therapeutic mechanism of acitretin in pustular psoriasis.

Key words: IL-8