Circulating levels of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and its soluble receptor (suPAR) in patients with atopic eczema/dermatitis syndrome.

Accumulating evidence has indicated that different immune and inflammatory processes may be accompanied by up-regulation of the uPA/uPAR system. Moreover, it has been suggested that the fibrinolytic system participates actively in immune-mediated skin disorders, including atopic eczema/dermatitis syndrome (AEDS). To study a possible role of such uPA/uPAR system in AEDS, we investigated circulating levels of uPA and suPAR in patients at different clinical stages of AEDS. Levels of u-PA and suPAR were measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay in plasma from 13 patients (five females and eight males; median age 27 years) with moderate AEDS, eight patients (three females and five males; median age 25.5 years) with severe AEDS, and 18 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. Plasma levels of uPA and suPAR in AEDS patients did not differ significantly when compared with those in healthy subjects. Moreover, we failed to observe any significant differences in levels of these components between patients with moderate and severe AEDS and the controls. It seems that plasma levels of uPA and suPAR are similar in patients at the different stages of AEDS and the healthy subjects. Moreover, these data suggest that the release of uPA and its soluble receptor into the bloodstream is not increased in the course of complex immune-mediated processes associated with AEDS.