HISTOPATHOLOGICAL AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STUDY OF CD34 IN SKIN BIOPSIES OF PATIENTS PRESENTING WITH PSORIASIS

Abstract

Objective: To determine severity of CD34 expression by immunohistochemistry on histopathologically diagnosed cases of psoriasis.

Material and Methods: After the approval from Hospital Ethical Committee, data was collected from all patients undergoing skin biopsy for diagnosis of psoriasis in the Department of Dermatology, Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi from 4^th June to 4^th Nov 2017. The specimen were examined grossly in the Department of Histopathology, Foundation University Medical College and the entire skin biopsy was submitted for preparation of histopathology slides from paraffin embedded sections. Cases were evaluated as mild staining (4-10 capillaries), moderate staining (11-20 capillaries) and strong staining (21-28 capillaries) under 40x field. The cases were diagnosed as psoriasis on histopathological basis by finding all or any of the following features such as hyperkeratosis, acanthosis, Munro’s abscess, elongation of rete ridges and dermal vasculature. 

Results: A total of 64 patients were included according to the inclusion criteria of the study. Mean age (years) in the study was 38.38+15.77 and majority were female patients 46 (71.9 %) whereas only 18 (28.1 %) were male patients. Among 64 patients, mild staining of CD34 expression was seen in 13 cases (20.3 %), moderate staining in 39 cases (60.9 %) followed by strong staining in 12 cases (18.8 %).

Conclusion: This study concludes that CD34 is an important marker of angiogenesis as it has highlighted the increased dermal vasculature of psoriasis. It can therefore be used for proper understanding of histiogenesis of the disease. Further studies in multiple setups should be done in this domain as it would help in the development of targeted drug therapy.

Key Words: Psoriasis, Immunohistochemistry, Histopathology, CD34 expression.