Abstract:

Objective To investigate the expression of glucose transporter type 1（GLUT-1） and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 （HIF-1） α in psoriatic lesions, and to explore their correlations with keratinocyte proliferation. Methods Biopsy specimens were obtained from 30 patients with psoriasis and 20 normal human controls. Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting were used to examine the protein expression of GLUT-1 and HIF-1α in these specimens. Results GLUT-1 and HIF-1α were mainly expressed in the basal layer of the control skin, but throughout the whole epidermis of psoriatic lesions. A significant increase was observed in the expression of GLUT-1 and HIF-1α in psoriatic lesions compared with that in the control skin （both P < 0.01). In the case of psoriatic lesions, both the expression of GLUT-1 and HIF-1α was positively correlated with that of Ki-67 （r = 0.70, 0.81 respectively, both P < 0.01）, and positive correlation was also found between the expression of GLUT-1 and HIF-1α （r = 0.85, P < 0.01）. Conclusion Our data suggest that upregulation of GLUT-1 and HIF-1α expression in psoriatic lesions might contribute to the proliferation of keratinocytes and psoriasis development.

Key words: psoriasis;HIF-1α;GLUT-1;proliferation