Involvement of complement in psoriasis and atopic dermatitis--measurement of C3a and C5a, C3, C4 and C1 inactivator.

Normal complement components and activation products were determined in the peripheral blood of 35 patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and 24 patients with psoriasis at a mild to intermediate stage. None of the patients had received systemic or local steroid therapy 6 weeks prior to blood collection. Levels of C3, C4 and C1 inactivator (C1 INA) were determined in serum by radial immunodiffusion, whereas C3a and C5a levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. In comparison to healthy non-atopic controls, the levels of C3, C4 and C1 INA were found to be significantly increased in both diseases. No substantial differences were detected between patients with psoriasis vulgaris and psoriasis guttata, which suggests that the dissimilarities found were not due to preceding or concomitant infections. In AD, there was a tendency towards increased C3a levels, whereas in psoriasis, C3a levels were significantly increased. In both diseases, no measurable amounts of C5a could be detected. The results indicate that, in both AD and psoriasis, the complement participates in the inflammatory process. Elevated levels of C3a suggest that there is a continuous activation of the complement system leading to the generation of inflammatory mediators.