Introduction

Abstract

The advent of biologic agents has brought about an accelerated growth in therapies available to clinicians for treatment of various dermatoses. Psoriasis is a good example of a disease in which our knowledge of its pathophysiology has increased dramatically with the introduction of therapeutics such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists and agents that block T-cell interactions. Activated T cells and dendritic cells are important in the development and maintenance of psoriasis through the release of cytokines such as TNF, chemokines, proteases, and other inflammatory mediators. 1 Gottlieb A.B. Psoriasis: emerging therapeutic strategies. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2005; 4: 19-34 Crossref PubMed Scopus (130) Google Scholar In a review on the pathophysiology of psoriasis, Gaspari discusses the innate and adaptive components of the immune response involved in this disease, as well as the emerging roles of defective regulatory T-cell suppressor function, natural killer T-cell response, and toll-like receptors.