Pushing the Envelope in Psoriasis: Late Cornified Envelope Proteins Possess Antimicrobial Activity.

Deletion of late cornified envelope (LCE) genes LCE3B and LCE3C (LCE3B/C-del) is a psoriasis risk factor linked to the major psoriasis risk gene HLA-C*06. Niehues et al. demonstrate that LCE3B/C-del leads to increased keratinocyte LCE3A expression. They also show that LCE3A/B/C possess antimicrobial activity but do not obviously regulate epidermal barrier integrity. These findings implicate LCE proteins in psoriasis pathogenesis via a new functional role.