The role of alarmins in the pathogenesis of psoriasis

Alarmins are a group of immune activating proteins/peptides that initiate an inflammatory process by interacting with immune cells. The alarmins are biosynthesized as a result of cell injury, often due to proteolysis of native proteins. Most often, the alarmins are released into the extracellular matrix as a result of infection, burn or trauma. Several studies have been conducted recently to determine the role of alarmins in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. This work was aimed to assess the clinical potential of alarmins and characterize their role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. The proposed review analysed 6 groups of alarmins with increased expression in the skin of patients with psoriasis: defensins, CAMP/LL-37, amphoterin/HMGB1, interleukin-1 (IL-1)-like cytokine family members (IL1 and -33) with alarmin properties, heat shock proteins, and proteins of the S100 family. The presented work also discusses the therapeutic potential of alarmins: the possibility to use them as the drug therapy target, as well as to establish diagnosis and monitor the progress of psoriasis. The further experimental studies are supposed to pay considerable attention to alarmin receptors, as well as members involved in the signalling pathways they initiated. These work findings help to obtain biologically active compounds that will be able to specifically and effectively inhibit the physiological effects of alarmins, as well as control the inflammatory process they induced. It seems certain that the use of alarmin antagonists in clinical practice will prove useful in the treatment of both psoriasis and other chronic autoimmune diseases, especially in cases where the most commonly used therapies are not effective enough.