The influence of ustekinumab on expression of STAT1, STAT3, STAT4, SOCS2, and IL17 in patients with psoriasis and in a control.

The aim of this study was to assess changes in the expression of STAT1, STAT3, STAT4, SOCS2, and IL17 in psoriatic patients under ustekinumab treatment and in healthy volunteers. The study group consisted of 14 patients suffering from psoriasis vulgaris qualified for ustekinumab therapy (4 women, 10 men) The control group consisted of 14 healthy volunteers (7 women, 7 men), their whole blood was used as a material in this study. A quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain assay was used to amplify analyzed genes. To indicate the differences in expression of selected genes in the test and control groups, the Kruskal-Wallis and the post hoc Dunn's test was carried out. After 40 weeks of observation of the effectiveness of ustekinumab in patients with psoriasis, the expression of STAT1, STAT3, STAT4, IL17, and SOCS2 was silenced. Statistic differences in expression were observed for STAT3 (40 vs. 0 weeks, p < .05; 0 week vs. C, p < .05) and SOCS2 (0 week vs. C, p < .05). Patients with psoriasis vulgaris have higher levels of STAT1, STAT3, STAT4, SOCS2, and IL17 expression compared to healthy individuals. On the other hand, the treatment of ustekinumab lasting 40 weeks caused a decrease in the transcriptional activity of the analyzed genes.