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INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
Clinical Efficiency of Topical Calcipotriol/Betamethasone Treatment
in Psoriasis Relies on Suppression of the Inflammatory TNFα – IL-
23 – IL-17 Axis
Minna E. KUBIN 1 , Nina KOKKONEN 1 , Riitta PALATSI 1 , Päivi M. HÄGG 1 , Juha P. VÄYRYNEN 2 , Virpi GLUMOFF 3 , Kirsi-Maria
HAAPASAARI 2 , Tiina HURSKAINEN 1 and Kaisa TASANEN 1
1
PEDEGO Research Unit, Oulu Center for Cell-Matrix Research, Department of Dermatology, Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University
Hospital and University of Oulu, 2 Cancer and Translational Medicine Research Unit, Department of Pathology, Medical Research Center
Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, and 3 Biomedicine, Medical Microbiology and Immunology Research Unit, University
of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
The effects of topical calcipotriol/betamethasone com-
bination therapy and betamethasone monotherapy on
inflammatory T-cell numbers and molecular markers
were compared in patients with psoriasis. Combina-
tion therapy down-regulated the expression of tumour
necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-23A, IL-17A,
S100A7, CCL-20 and interferon (IFN)-γ in skin and
TNF-α, IL-6, IL-23A, T-bet and IFN-γ in peripheral
blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Betamethasone mo-
notherapy had less effect. Expression of FoxP3 in both
skin and PBMCs was down-regulated by calcipotriol/
betamethasone, but not by betamethasone. Immuno-
histochemical analysis revealed that calcipotriol/beta-
methasone reduced the numbers of CD4 + and CD8 + T
cells and Tregs in psoriatic lesions more than betame-
thasone. Flow cytometric analyses demonstrat