Current concepts in the immunopathogenesis of psoriasis

This article has focused on the innate and acquired immune systems, their overlap, and the role of these components in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Recent data on mouse models have been presented, emphasizing xenotransplant models as more representative of psoriatic lesions than knockouts or transgenic mice. Finally, a summary of recent genomics data in psoriasis was discussed to introduce these important studies and the data they generate. The authors' belief of the importance of IFN-γ as a pivotal cytokine in the initiation or maintenance of psoriatic lesions has been supported with evidence throughout the article, while acknowledging that TNF-α plays an important and probably synergistic role. There are topics that have not been covered but some of these are done so elsewhere in this issue, such as the genetics of psoriasis. The role of specific antigens (autoantigens, superantigens, or microbial antigens) in triggering or maintaining lesional activity is another area that has not been discussed and requires further experimentation and attention.