ABSTRACT

Objective:

Serum Lipocalin 2 (LCN2) levels are a general indicator for increased inflammation in the patients with psoriasis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the receptor levels of LCN2 in psoriatic lesions.

Methods:

Immunohistochemical expression of LCN2 was investigated in 31 skin biopsy samples of patients with psoriasis and 31 skin biopsies of control group and the results were compared between the groups.

Results:

Among patient group, 19 patients (61.3%) had plaque psoriasis and in all of these, medium to strong staining intensity of LCN2 immunohistochemical expression was detected in the upper epidermal layer. In remaining 12 patients (38.7%) with pathologically early stage psoriatic lesions and control group epidermal LCN2 immunohistochemical expression was not observed. LCN2 immunohistochemical expression was detected in the inner root sheath of the hair follicles in both groups without any statistically difference (p=1.00).

Conclusion:

In our study, medium to strong staining of LCN2 receptor was detected in the superficial epidermis of the psoriatic plaques. But LCN2 immunohistochemical staining was not observed in control skin biopsies. These findings may point out the significance of LCN2 in pathogenesis of psoriasis. On the other hand, absence of expression in patients with early psoriatic lesions imply that LCN2 may be active at the later stages of the pathology.