Expression of low-density lipoprotein-related receptors 5 and 6 (LRP5/6) in psoriasis skin

Abstract

Low-density lipoprotein-related receptors 5 and 6 (LRP5/6) are transmembrane receptors with key functions in canonical Wnt signalling. Wnt ligands are thought to play an important role in innate immunity and psoriasis, and recent studies assigned LRP5/6 anti-inflammatory properties. The objective of this study was to investigate the expression of LRP5 and LRP6 in lesional and non-lesional skin in peripheral blood and in mononuclear cells of patients with chronic plaque type psoriasis compared with control individuals. To investigate the effect of UV-B radiation, LRP5/6 skin gene expression was analysed before and after narrowband UV-B treatment. Our results showed significantly decreased gene expression of LRP5 and LRP6 in lesional skin and in peripheral blood from patients with psoriasis compared with non-lesional skin and healthy control skin. Immunohistochemistry did not reveal differences in protein expression of LRP5/6. Narrowband UV-B treatment induced a significant increase in LRP5 and LRP6 gene expression in lesional skin. Decreased gene expression of LRP5/6 in lesional skin and upregulation after nb UV-B treatment suggest a possible role for LRP5/6 in psoriasis.

Keywords: LRP5/6 gene expression; UV-B treatment; Wnt/β-catenin signalling.