The study and comparison of blood serum nitric oxide levels and resistin gene expression in psoriasis patients and healthy controls

Introduction:
Nitric oxide (NO) and resistin play significant roles in the inflammatory processes and pathogenesis of psoriasis, and are associated with comorbidities often seen in psoriasis patients.

Objective:
We evaluated the correlation between the level of resistin gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and the serum NO levels in patients with psoriasis.

Material and methods:
We studied 60 cases with psoriasis and 40 healthy controls. The serum level of NO in the blood of the study groups, psoriasis and healthy control respectively, was determined using the Griess technique and the Kiazist kit (Kiazist, Iran). In addition, we performed real-time PCR to assay resistin gene expression in PBMCs from both groups.

Results:
The serum NO levels in patients with psoriasis were significantly higher than in healthy controls (p = 0.001). The resistin gene expression in PBMCs was significantly elevated in psoriatic patients group (p = 0.001).

Conclusions:
The findings revealed that, in addition to having higher levels of platelets and WBC in their serum, patients with psoriasis, have higher levels of NO and upregulated resistin gene expression, which is likely due to the pathological role of these factors in the occurrence or maintenance of psoriasis. The rise in NO levels and resistin gene expression suggests they may play a role in the pathology of psoriasis.