Effect of Acitretin on MCP-1 and MIP-1α of the Peripheral Blood in Patients with Psoriasis Vulgaris

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of acitretin on psoriasis vulgaris(PV)and study the effect of acitretin on serum levels of monocyte chemoattractant Protein-1(MCP-1)and macrophage inflammatory protein-1α(MIP-1α),further clarify the mechanism of Acitretin. Methods Thirty-eight patients with moderate to severe PV were treated with acitretin for 8 weeks. The efficacy of treatment was evaluated by Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the serum levels of MCP-1 and MIP-1α in 40 healthy controls and 38 patients with PV before and after treatment.Results The mean PASI scores were significantly decreased after treatment with acitretin (P0.01).Serum levels of MCP-1 and MIP-1α were(267.95±16.87)pg/mL and(1 319.47±165.25)pg/mL respectively. They were significantly higher in PV patients than those in healthy controls (87.36±9.63) pg/mL and (479.24±35.71) pg/mL respectively (P0.01).After treatment with acitretin,serum level of MCP-1 (91.71±11.25) pg/mL was significantly decreased than that before treatment (P0.01), and had no significant difference with that in healthy controls (P0.05); Serum level of MIP-1α (956.58±87.39) pg/mL was significantly decreased than that before treatment (P0.01), but it was still higher than that in healthy controls (P0.01). Conclusion Acitretin is significantly effective in the treatment of moderate to severe PV. It may affect serum levels of MCP-1 and MIP-1α to play a role in the treatment of psoriasis.