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Genes and psoriasis: Unraveling the mystery
Researchers are analyzing genes and using clinical evidence from patients to understand how specific genetic differences in people with psoriatic disease lead to changes in the way their immune systems function. Learn more about genetics and psoriasis »
These discoveries may open the door to more effective treatments.
Which genes are involved?
Scientists have now identified about 25 genetic variants that make a person more likely to develop psoriatic disease.
At the University of Michigan, J.T. Elder, M.D., Ph.D., and his team of researchers have identified several areas on the human genome where more than one gene may be involved in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
At the University of California-San Francisco, Wilson Liao, M.D., is using new genetic sequencing technology to find rare "trigger genes" that may be the leading causes of psoriasis in certain individuals.
Are some genes linked to specific kinds of psoriasis?
At the University of Utah, researchers Gerald Krueger, M.D., and Kristina Callis Duffin, M.D., have carefully catalogued the psoriasis of more than 1,200 patients.
By comparing the genes of each individual to the way psoriasis shows up on his or her body, the team hopes to understand which genes are involved in specific types of disease. Learn more »
How do genes interact with the immune system?
Working with DNA samples from a large family that includes many people with psoriasis, Anne Bowcock, Ph.D., a professor of genetics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has identified one pathway by which a gene or genes give faulty information to the immune system.
The DNA samples Dr. Bowcock used in her studies came from the National Psoriasis Tissue Bank, established in 1994 to collect DNA for researchers. The tissue bank was the predecessor of the Foundation's National Psoriasis Victor Henschel BioBank, which is collecting DNA samples from people with and without psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis. Future studies will be enhanced by DNA collected by the BioBank.
The treatment connection
Understanding the genes that trigger psoriasis in specific people and the pathways linking these genes to the immune system will someday improve treatment.
- Scientists may learn that certain treatments work better for people with a specific genetic variation.
- Treatments may be developed to interfere with the pathways that connect genes to the immune system.
Supporting genetics research
Scientists studying genetics need a large number of DNA samples to compare people with psoriasis to those without. Samples from the Victor Henschel BioBank are being used in some of the studies described above.
Learn more about how the National Psoriasis Foundation funds promising research and researchers »
Support research with a monetary donation or by donating DNA to the BioBank.