Augmented lymphocyte binding to cultured endothelium in psoriasis

Lymphocyte binding to cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells was evaluated using a modified centrifugation binding assay in 15 patients with psoriasis and compared with three patients with atopic dermatitis, 11 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 28 normal controls. Patients with psoriasis demonstrated 61% augmented lymphocyte binding compared with normal controls (P < 0.0001), which was not explained by differences in age and sex or an effect of psoriatic sera. In serial studies of six patients, this difference was found to be reversible with treatment and clinical improvement. Lymphocytes from patients with atopic dermatitis demonstrated decreased binding to endothelium (P < 0.005), while those from patients with rheumatoid arthritis were not different from normal controls. This is the first skin disease described in which augmented lymphocyte binding to endothelium occurs, and may represent a mechanism by which lymphocytes are targeted to psoriatic skin.