From skin to bone: translational perspectives on psoriatic disease.

In recent years, translational research has provided fresh insights into the mechanisms that underlie both skin and joint inflammation in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Application of immunological and molecular techniques to the study of involved tissues, combined with magnetic resonance imaging and relevant preclinical models, has unveiled pivotal inflammatory cascades and cytokine networks that lead to sustained inflammation and altered tissue architecture. In this brief overview of a presentation from the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) the key pathophysiologic events associated with inflammation in psoriatic plaques, synovial membranes, and soft tissues (entheses, tendons), and with abnormal bone remodeling are discussed.