Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Sep 16.
doi: 10.1002/art.43396. Online ahead of print.

Transition From Psoriasis to Psoriatic Arthritis is Characterized by Distinct Alterations in Peripheral Blood Tc17, Th17, and CD4+ Effector Memory Cells

Hanna Graßhoff  1 , Sara Comdühr  1 , Henry Nording  2   3   4 , Jacob von Esebeck  2 , Philine Letz  1   5   6 , Miriam Prohaczka  1 , Handan Gedik  7 , Henner Zirpel  7 , Elisabeth Spallek  7 , Linh Ha-Wissel  7 , El-Baraa Adjailia  1 , Sabrina Arnold  1 , Konstantinos Fourlakis  1 , Sebastian Klapa  1 , Ingo Eitel  4   8 , Oliver J Müller  3   4 , Jens Y Humrich  1 , Gabriela Riemekasten  1 , Diamant Thaçi  7 , Peter Lamprecht  1   7
Affiliations

Transition From Psoriasis to Psoriatic Arthritis is Characterized by Distinct Alterations in Peripheral Blood Tc17, Th17, and CD4+ Effector Memory Cells

Hanna Graßhoff et al. Arthritis Rheumatol. .

Abstract

Objective: Cellular mechanisms driving transition from psoriasis to psoriatic arthritis have remained largely elusive. Thus, we investigated changes within the peripheral blood T cell compartment associated with the transition phase.

Methods: In an observational study, 116 patients were examined and categorized into subgroups including psoriasis with at least one risk factor for transition to psoriatic arthritis, subclinical psoriatic arthritis according to EULAR taskforce recommendations from 2023, and definitive psoriatic arthritis meeting the Classification Criteria for Psoriatic Arthritis. Demographic and clinical characteristics of patient subgroups were analyzed. Deep T cell phenotyping using multicolor flow cytometry and machine-learning techniques were applied.

Results: Overlapping T cell endotypes were found among patients with subclinical psoriatic arthritis exhibiting the most notable divergence from the others. Frequencies of effector memory CD4+ T cells, Th17, and Tc17 cells differed among patients with psoriasis with at least one risk factor for transition, subclinical psoriatic arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis. Transition-associated changes of Tc17 cell frequencies were confirmed by machine-learning-assisted unsupervised clustering analysis. Moreover, patients with enthesitis could be distinguished from those without, with Tc17 cells being the main distinctive feature.

Conclusion: Transition from psoriasis to psoriatic arthritis was associated with distinct alterations of the peripheral blood T cell compartment, with Tc17 cells exhibiting the greatest discriminatory power. These findings provide insight into pathomechanisms driving disease progression during transition from psoriasis to psoriatic arthritis and identify Tc17 cells as the foremost novel potential therapeutic target for the prevention of transition.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Michalek IM, Loring B, John SM. A systematic review of worldwide epidemiology of psoriasis. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2017;31(2):205–212.
    1. Mease PJ, Gladman DD, Papp KA, et al. Prevalence of rheumatologist‐diagnosed psoriatic arthritis in patients with psoriasis in European/North American dermatology clinics. J Am Acad Dermatol 2013;69(5):729–735.
    1. Tillett W, Charlton R, Nightingale A, et al. Interval between onset of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis comparing the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink with a hospital‐based cohort. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2017;56(12):2109–2113.
    1. Christophers E, Barker J, Griffiths C, et al. The risk of psoriatic arthritis remains constant following initial diagnosis of psoriasis among patients seen in European dermatology clinics. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2010;24(5):548–554.
    1. Eder L, Haddad A, Rosen CF, et al. The incidence and risk factors for psoriatic arthritis in patients with psoriasis: a prospective cohort study: incidence and risk factors for PsA. Arthritis Rheumatol 2016;68(4):915–923.

LinkOut - more resources