Note: [] Corresponding author: Moushira Abdel-Wahab Mahmoud, Department
of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
Tel.: +20 10 3179695; Fax: +20 64 3216496; E-mail: moushiraa@yahoo.com
Abstract: Background: Little information is known about telomerase expression
in the chronic benign hyperproliferative skin disease, psoriasis. Further
studies are still required to investigate its usefulness as a biomarker of this
skin disorder. Aim: To investigate the expression of human telomerase reverse
transcriptase (hTERT) in psoriatic lesional skin and its relation to disease
severity. Methods: The levels of hTERT-mRNA were quantified using real time
RT-PCR in lesional versus nonlesional skin specimens from 24 psoriatic
patients. Results: The expression of hTERT was detected in 16 psoriatic
lesional specimens (66.7%), but in none of the normal skin. There was no
relation between hTERT expression level and age of the patient or the duration
of the disease. Among hTERT-positive patients, a significant positive
correlation was observed between hTERT-mRNA levels and both the Psoriasis
Area-and-Severity Index (PASI) and scaling scores (p=0.012 & p=0.006,
respectively). Conclusion: Telomerase mRNA is detectable in lesional skin
of most psoriatic patients and correlates with the severity of the disease and
the rate of epidermal proliferation.
Keywords: Human telomerase reverse transcriptase, psoriasis, PASI score, scaling score
