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Researchers: Kristina Callis Duffin1,6, Ingrid C Freeny2,6, Steven J Schrodi3, Bob Wong4, Bing-Jian Feng1, Razieh Soltani-Arabshahi1, Tina Rakkhit5, David E Goldgar1 and Gerald G Krueger1
- 1Department of Dermatology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
- 2Department of Dermatology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- 3Celera Corporation, Alameda, California, USA
- 4College of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- 5Department of Dermatology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- 6These authors contributed equally to this work.
This work was performed at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Correspondence: Dr Kristina Callis Duffin, Department of Dermatology, University of Utah School of Medicine, 30 North 1900 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84132, USA.
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Received 30 January 2009; Revised 10 May 2009; Accepted 15 May 2009; Published online 25 June 2009.
Abstract
Genetic and environmental factors influence the development of psoriasis (Ps) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Recently, we reported that threeIL13polymorphisms, rs1800925, rs20541, and rs848, on chromosome 5q31 conferred the risk for Ps.IL13encodes IL-13, a Th2 cytokine, and rs1800925 and rs20541 confer risk of asthma. Further, smoking may increase the risk of developing Ps. We examined the association betweenIL13polymorphisms, smoking, and PsA in two Ps sample sets genotyped for rs1800925, rs20541, and rs848. We found that the minor alleles (rs1800925*T, rs20541*A, and rs848*A) were significantly associated with protection from PsAversuscontrols, and that no association with Ps is seen when the PsA cases are excluded. This effect was strongest with rs1800925*T (odds ratio (OR) 0.40,Pallelic0.000067). The prevalence of PsA in cases with the rs1800925*CT or TT genotype is about half that of those with the CC genotype (15.5vs32.1%,P=0.0002). However, smoking appears to abrogate this effect (CT/TT/non-smoker, prevalence of PsA 13%, OR 0.20,P=0.0001; CT/TT/smoker, prevalence 38%, OR 0.88,P=0.74, CC/non-smoker, prevalence 42%(reference), CC/smoker prevalence 47%, OR 1.21,P=0.47). This study suggests thatIL13polymorphisms associate most strongly with PsA and that smoking may modulate this effect.
Abbreviations:
CI, confidence interval; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; OR, odds ratio; Ps, psoriasis; PsA, psoriatic arthritis
Introduction
Genetic and environmental factors are known to influence the development and phenotypic features of psoriasis (Ps) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Twin concordance studies and familial clustering of Ps are well known and support a strong genetic component (Brandrup et al., 1982).HLA-Cw*0602, which lies in thePSORS1risk locus on chromosome 6, is believed to confer the greatest risk of Ps of any locus (Nair et al., 2006). However, this genetic risk factor is also strongly correlated with environmental factors that augment the Ps phenotype, including streptococcal pharyngitis, which is associated with guttate Ps inHLA-Cw0602-positive patients and Ps induced by trauma (Koebner phenomenon) (Gudjonsson et al., 2003,2006;Holm et al., 2005). Recently, a case–control study in a Chinese population found a several fold increase in the risks of Ps in patients who smoke or have stressful life events and carryHLA-Cw6(Jin et al., 2008). Tobacco use and other environmental factors such as obesity have also been shown to be risk factors for the development of Ps (Setty et al., 2007).
Psoriatic arthritis, which develops in 6–42%of patients with Ps (Gelfand et al., 2005), is also thought to have a strong and complex genetic basis. PsA has been associated with numerous HLA antigens, includingHLA-Cw*0602(Gladman and Farewell, 2003),HLA-B27, and others, as well as several outside of the major histocompatibility complex (reviewed byDuffin et al., 2008). Similar to Ps, certain markers associate with PsA phenotype: patients who haveHLA-Cw*0602andHLA-DRB1*07typically have a less severe course (Ho et al., 2007); patients withHLA-B27tend to have spinal manifestations, whereas carriers ofHLA-B38andHLA-B39tend to have more peripheral involvement (Gladman and Farewell, 2003). More recently,HLA-Cw*0602has been shown to associate only with PsA in patients with younger age of onset of Ps (Ho, 2008). It has been speculated that trauma may increase the risk of developing PsA, perhaps the equivalent of the Koebner phenomenon in skin (Ryan, 1991;Pattison et al., 2008). Although familial clustering has been observed in PsA (Moll and Wright, 1973), a recent study of twins in Denmark showed equivalent rates of monozygotic and dizygotic twin concordance, suggesting that environmental triggers may have a large role in the development of PsA (Pedersen et al., 2008). Little is known about gene–environment interaction in PsA.
In the past 3 years, genome-wide case–control association studies have identified several new genetic polymorphisms that confer risk of Ps and PsA. Polymorphisms inIL12B, IL23R, andIL13have been shown by our group and others to confer modest risk of Ps (Capon et al., 2007;Cargill et al., 2007;Smith et al., 2007;Li et al., 2008;Nair et al., 2008;Chang et al., 2008). Although it is now apparent thatIL12BandIL23Rgenes encode cytokines and cytokine receptors that are important in the pathogenesis of Ps, the functional or causative roles for these polymorphisms are not known, and the role ofIL13in Ps is particularly unclear (Duffin and Krueger, 2008).
IL13, located on chromosome 5q31, encodes the cytokine IL-13. Four polymorphisms in theIL13/IL4region, including rs1800925, located 1kb 5′ of theIL13coding region, rs20541 (a missense polymorphism in exon 4, Q144R), rs848 (in the 3′UTR), and rs11568506 (located in an intron ofSLC22A4), have been shown to associate with Ps in a genome-wide study and follow-up fine-mapping study of our Utah sample set (Li et al., 2008;Chang et al., 2008); association of rs20541 and rs848 with Ps was also seen in the Genetics Association Information Network genome-wide study of Ps (Nair et al., 2009). IL-13, a Th2 cytokine, is not known to be expressed in psoriatic skin, but it has been found in the synovial fluid of patients with PsA (Spadaro et al., 2002). IL-13 has an important role in Th2-mediated immune disorders such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), andIL13polymorphisms rs1800925 and rs20541 are associated with the risk of asthma and COPD (Heinzmann et al., 2000). There is also increasing evidence that there may be a gene–environment interaction betweenIL13polymorphisms and tobacco that affects the clinical features of Th2 disorders. Homozygosity of the minor allele (T) of rs1800925 is associated with increased risk for smokers to develop diminished FEV1, FEV1/FVC ratio, and COPD when compared with smokers carrying the common C allele (Sadeghnejad et al., 2007). Children with the common haplotype of threeIL13polymorphisms, which include rs1800925 and rs20541, are more likely to develop asthma if exposed to smoking by their mothersin utero(Sadeghnejad et al., 2008).
As smoking is considered a risk factor for the development of Ps, we hypothesized that there may be an association between theIL13polymorphisms that confer risk of Ps, tobacco use, and phenotypic features of Ps. In addition, as data from our sample set have also shown that certain characteristics, such as age of onset of PsA, can be influenced by smoking history (Rakkhit et al., 2007), we specifically sought to examine the possible interaction between smoking andIL13polymorphisms on the development of PsA.
Results
Demographics
Of the 698 Utah cases that had been genotyped and were eligible for analysis, 181 had PsA, and 447 had cutaneous Ps only. Seventy cases were excluded on the grounds of having an equivocal arthritis diagnosis. Of the 447 cases with Ps only, 334 had Ps
10 years without PsA. Baseline characteristics of the 334 patients with Ps
10 years and the 181 PsA patients are shown inTable 1. There was a marginally significant trend for more females to have PsA, and for more males to have Ps only (P=0.048). The mean age of Ps onset in the Ps group was not statistically different from the PsA group (22.7±14.4vs25.9±14.3). The mean age of onset of the PsA was 37.5 years, and the mean duration of PsA was 13.1 years. The prevalence of smoking was 32.1%in the Ps only group, and 38.9%in the PsA group (P=0.12).
Table 1 - Demographics of Utah cases with psoriasis
10 years without PsA compared with cases with PsA.

The minor allele of rs1800925 associates with protection from PsA
Recently, we have shown association of Ps with four polymorphisms in theIL13/IL4region: rs1800925 (located in the 5′ promoter region), rs20541 (located within exon 4 ofIL13), rs848 (located in the 3′UTR), and rs11568506 (located in an intron ofSLC22A4) (Li et al., 2008;Chang et al., 2008). Although many other single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the region associate with Ps, analysis taking into account linkage disequilibrium showed that rs1800925 and rs11568506 independently confer risk, and rs11568506 is only marginally significant. Therefore, we sought to determine whether a correlation existed between the polymorphisms that conferred the most risk (rs1800925) and clinical features of Ps. We found that PsA was less frequent in cases with the rs1800925*CT or TT genotype compared with the CC genotype (15.5vs32.1%,P=0.0002, odds ratios (OR)=0.38) (Table 2). Other phenotypic features, including gender, age of onset of Ps, and mean age of onset of PsA, were not statistically different.
Table 2 - Clinical features of psoriasis cases with genotype rs1800925 CCversus CT/TT.

This finding prompted us to further analyze the relationship between PsA and theIL13polymorphisms. The cases were divided into three groups: PsA, cutaneous Ps only (“Ps”), and cutaneous Ps for
10 years without PsA; allele and genotype frequencies for rs1800925, rs20541, and rs848 were compared for each group with the non-psoriatic controls (Table 3). This analysis revealed that the minor allele of all three SNPs was significantly associated with protection from PsA, which was most pronounced for rs1800925 (OR 0.40, 95%confidence interval (CI) 0.25–0.65,Pallelic=0.000067,Pgenotypic=0.00014). Interestingly, the allele frequencies in the Ps only group and Ps ≥10 years group are identical to that of controls. To confirm this, we performed the same analysis in the GCI sample set provided by Celera Corporation (Alameda, CA) in which the necessary phenotypic data (number of years with Ps and diagnosis of PsA) were available (Table 3). This analysis also showed that the rs1800925*T was protective in the PsA group of the GCI sample set (OR 0.53, 95%CI 0.33–0.83,Pallelic=0.0025,Pgenotypic=0.008).
Table 3 - Association of IL13 polymorphisms rs1800925, rs20541, and rs848 with PsA and psoriasis without PsA compared with controls in the Utah sample set.
CI, confidence interval; GCI, Genomics Collaborative Division of SeraCare Life Sciences; OR, odds ratio; Ps, psoriasis; PsA, psoriatic arthritis; UPI, Utah Psoriasis Initiative.1 All statistics compare sam ple set to control. 2 Allelic P-values were performed using Fisher's exact test. 3 Genotypic P-values were performed using William's corrected log-likelihood ratio tests. P-values are two-tailed, except for the GCI sample, for which P-values are one-tailed as the hypothesis for this analysis was defined by the direction of the allelic effect in the Utah samples. 4 Ps sample set includes the "Ps
10 years" sample set.
Effect of smoking and rs1800925 alleles on risk of PsA
As noted in previous studies, smoking appears to alter the risk and severity of COPD depending on which alleles ofIL13are present. We hypothesized that smoking could modulate the protection from PsA in patients carrying rs1800925*T. For this analysis, the prevalence of PsA was determined in four groups: non-smokers with genotype CT or TT, smokers with CT or TT, non-smokers with CC, and smokers with CC (Table 4). The prevalence of PsA in non-smokers with CT or TT was 13%, compared with 38%in smokers with CT or TT. In contrast, the prevalence of PsA in non-smokers with the CC genotype was 42%, and it was 47%in smokers with CC. We conclude that smoking appears to abrogate the protective effect of rs1800925*T, such that the prevalence of PsA among patients who smoke with the rs1800925*T is comparable with the prevalence of PsA in non-smoking patients with the common risk allele (CT/TT/non-smoker, prevalence of PsA 13%, OR 0.20,P=0.0001; CT/TT/smoker, prevalence 38%, OR 0.88,P=0.74, CC/non-smoker, prevalence 42%(reference), CC/smoker prevalence 47%, OR 1.21,P=0.47).
Table 4 - Prevalence of PsA in smokers and nonsmokers with CC versus CT/TT genotypes.

CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio; Ps, psoriasis; PsA, psoriatic arthritis. 1 Standard one-way analysis of variance was performed for comparisons among the groups defined by smoking status and genotype.
Effect of smoking on onset of PsA
Previously, we reported that smoking appeared to prolong the time to development of PsA in the Utah sample set (Rakkhit et al., 2007). To determine whether smoking and rs1800925 influence the time to development of PsA, we performed an interaction analysis using one-way analysis of variance (Table 5). Time from the development of Ps to PsA was determined in smokers and non-smokers with or without rs1800925*T. The analysis showed that smoking was associated with delayed onset of PsA: non-smokers with genotype CT or TT developed PsA 8.83±12.43 years after the onset of Ps, compared with 17.57±14.49 years for smokers; similarly, non-smokers with genotype CC developed PsA 12.43 years ±11.28 after the onset of Ps, compared with 16.37±13.10 years in smokers (P=0.013). Interaction of smoking and rs1800925 for delaying onset of PsA, however, did not reach statistical significance (P=0.08).
Table 5 - Mean time to development of PsA in smokers and non-smokers with rs1800925 CC versus CT/TT genotypes.

Ps, psoriasis; PsA, psoriatic arthritis.
1 The interaction of genotype and smoking on mean number of years from Ps onset to PsA onset was performed using one-way analysis of variance. Smoking was associated with the delayed onset of PsA (P=0.013). The interaction of smoking and the rs1800925 polymorphism had borderline significance (P=0.08).
Discussion
These results show that the minor alleles of threeIL13polymorphisms, rs1800925*T, rs20541*A, and rs848*A, associate with protection from PsA in patients with Ps. Previously, our group has reported association of Ps from four polymorphisms within theIL13/IL4region: rs1800925*T, rs20541*A, rs848*A, and theSLC22A4intronic SNP rs11568506. We initially reported that the risk haplotype (CCG) of rs1800925, rs20541, and rs848 conferred risk with a combined OR of 1.27 (Pcombined=1.88 × 10−4) (Chang et al., 2008). The follow-up study (Li et al., 2008) examined 106 polymorphisms in theIL13/IL4region and concluded that rs1800925 could account for observed significant association of all but one other SNP, rs11568506 inSLC22A4, which alone conferred only modest risk. However, these studies only compared cases with Ps with non-psoriatic controls. Our data suggest that the association of theIL13SNPs with Ps appears to be driven by the association with PsA. This conclusion is based on data that show that the allele frequencies in the groups where PsA cases were removed are nearly identical to that of controls.
Two other large-scale genome-wide studies of Ps, which included PsA sample sets in the analysis, have recently been published. The Genetics Association Information Network study, a genome-wide association of 1409 cases and 1436 controls that included the Utah sample set from this study, also reported the association of rs20541 with Ps. The replication phase of this study supported the association of rs20541 with Ps and PsA, but a comparison of allele frequencies for rs20541 between PsA cases and cutaneous Ps only was not significant (P=0.11) (Nair et al., 2009). It is noted that this study did not include rs1800925, which is in moderate linkage disequilibrium with rs20541 (r2=0.24). The genome-wide study reported byLiu et al. (2008), which used a relatively small discovery set of 223 cases, including 91 PsA patients, also did not find association of Ps or PsA with SNPs in the 5q31 region. Certainly, the size of the study populations, differences in genetic architecture across populations, different environmental influences, and the modest contribution of theIL13polymorphisms may have contributed to the lack of power to find association ofIL13SNPs with PsA in these studies. Further replication of our association of PsA with rs1800925 is needed to confirm this finding.
The biological role ofIL13polymorphisms and IL-13 in the development of Ps or PsA remains unclear. No identified functional role exists for rs1800925, which lies near the 5′ end ofIL13. This SNP, along with rs11568506, marks a risk haplotype, and it is possible that an unidentified or untested variant along this haplotype may be the true risk variant. However,IL13remains an interesting inflammatory disease candidate, given the role that IL-13 has in the Th2-mediated allergic inflammatory response seen in asthma, allergy, helminthic responses, and atopic dermatitis (Lee et al., 2007). IL-13 has not been detected in psoriatic skin, but increased synovial IL-13 levels have been reported in patients with PsA and rheumatoid arthritis (Spadaro et al., 2002). Severalin vivoand animal studies have suggested that IL-13 has protective effects related to inflammatory arthropathy, including the following: (1) inhibition of tumor necrosis factor-αactivation of osteoclasts, (2) inhibition of cartilage destruction by downregulating activity of matrix metalloproteinases and blocking apoptosis of chondrocytes, (3) inhibition of angiogenesis thereby preventing overgrowth of tortuous blood vessels within the synovium and (4) inhibition of the production of inflammatory cytokines by monocytes obtained from peripheral blood (Woods et al., 2002;Palmqvist et al., 2006;Haas et al., 2007). Although these findings do not clarify the role of elevated levels of IL-13 in PsA, it is possible that IL-13 in the synovium counteracts the Th1-mediated inflammatory milieu in PsA.
There is also increasing evidence that a correlation exists betweenIL13genotype, IL-13 expression, and smoking in a variety of disease states. Our study is the first to suggest that protection from PsA conferred by rs1800925*T could be negated by a current or past smoking history. This protective effect of the minor alleles ofIL13polymorphisms, which included rs1800925, has also been shown in children who were exposed to tobacco smokein utero; children carrying the minor alleles have less severe wheezing than those who carried the common haplotype. However, in smokers who develop COPD, it appears that it is the common allele rather than the minor allele that protects from more severe airflow obstruction.
The results of this study also show that smoking is associated with delaying the onset of PsA in patients with Ps. This finding has interesting parallels to inflammatory bowel disease, which similar to Ps is influenced by smoking and common genetic variants. In Crohn's disease, tobacco use is associated with later onset of disease and a more severe course; in contrast, in ulcerative colitis, smoking is associated with a less severe clinical course and decreased need for corticosteroids and colectomy (Calkins, 1989;Mokbel et al., 1998;Mahid et al., 2006,2007). Crohn's disease is also associated with polymorphisms in theIL13/IL4region (though distinct from the Ps risk polymorphisms) (Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, 2007;Li et al., 2008) and the same polymorphism inIL23Rthat associates with Ps (Duerr et al., 2006;Cargill et al., 2007). It is clear that further studies are needed to determine the relationship between susceptibility genes such asIL13and smoking in immune-mediated disorders and overlapping genetic and environmental triggers such as Ps and inflammatory bowel disease.
Previous studies have examined the effect of smoking on the development of inflammatory joint disease. Meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies has suggested that smoking may increase the risk for development of rheumatoid factor positive rheumatoid arthritis (Sugiyama et al., 2009). The effect of smoking on the development of rheumatoid factor positive rheumatoid arthritis is influenced by gender, having a more profound effect in males than females. In addition,Padyukov et al. (2004)showed a gene–environment interaction for rheumatoid factor positive rheumatoid arthritis. In this study, the risk gene, a shared HLA-DRB1 epitope, conferred even greater risk in current smokers compared with non-smokers (relative risk=2.8 (95%CI 1.6–4.8) for non-smokersversusrelative risk=15.7 (95%CI 7.2–34.2) for current smokers).
There are several limitations to our study that must be considered when interpreting the results. First, the diagnosis of PsA in all participants was self-reported as having been diagnosed by a rheumatologist. We did not have a rheumatologist independently confirm the diagnosis; however, all patients were seen by dermatologists trained in assessing PsA, and equivocal cases were excluded from the study. In addition, no data were collected on disease severity, joints affected, or subclassification of PsA. Our “Ps only” subsets may also have included patients who have undiagnosed PsA or will go on to develop it. We chose to limit this possibility by creating a set of psoriasis cases who have had Ps for at least 10 years without PsA, as it is reported that most patients who will develop PsA do so within the first 10 years (Gladman et al., 2005). The diagnosis, or lack of diagnosis of PsA, could also have been confounded by treatment history, which we did not take into account. Systemic therapies such as methotrexate or biological agents could have masked clinical signs or symptoms of PsA, thus decreasing the likelihood of detecting PsA, or even reducing the likelihood of developing PsA despite a genetic or environmental predisposition. Yet another limitation of the study was that smoking history was not quantified in a detailed manner, which prevented our ability to identify a dose-dependent relationship of smoking to PsA. Evaluation of additional sample sets in an attempt to replicate these results is imperative for strong conclusions to be drawn. Prospectively enrolled databases of patients with psoriatic disease with detailed clinical information, including rheumatologic examination and detailed smoking history, are needed to confirm these data.
In summary, our data suggest that polymorphisms in theIL13/IL4region, a previously identified autoimmune susceptibility locus, may associate with PsA more than Ps with cutaneous manifestations alone, and this susceptibility may be influenced by smoking history. This study supports the hypothesis that genes and environment may interact to influence the development of PsA. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings and to elucidate the biological pathways influenced byIL13and tobacco use.
Materials and Methods
Utah participants
Detailed demographic and clinical data as well as genotype data were obtained from participants with Ps enrolled in the Utah Ps Initiative. This study was approved by the University of Utah Institutional Review Board and conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki principles. All participants provided written informed consent and had been recruited from dermatology clinics affiliated with the University of Utah. Enrollment included completion of a questionnaire, detailed physical examination, an interview by a trained research physician, and collection of a peripheral blood sample for DNA extraction.
All eligible participants from the Utah Psoriasis Initiative were examined and confirmed to have Ps. Patients were considered to have PsA if the patient reported that a rheumatologist had diagnosed PsA. Equivocal cases of PsA were excluded from the analysis. Smoking history was obtained by patient self-report on the intake questionnaires. Patients were considered smokers if they answered “yes” to the question,“ have you ever smoked cigarettes on a routine basis?”
The replication study population was collected by the Genomics Collaborative Division of SeraCare Life Sciences (GCI) as described elsewhere (Cargill et al., 2007). The patients in this study set had dermatologist-confirmed Ps. Presence of PsA, age of onset of Ps, and age of onset of PsA had also been dermatologist-reported.
For the association analysis, the Ps sample sets were divided into three groups: cases with Ps and PsA (“PsA”), cases with Ps without PsA regardless of duration of Ps (“Ps”), and cases with Ps for ≥10 years without PsA (“Ps
10years”). The 10-year cutoff was arbitrarily chosen to create a set of patients who were less likely to develop PsA, given that most patients develop PsA within the first 10 years of developing Ps (Gladman et al., 2005).
Genotyping
All genotyping was performed at Celera Corporation. Genotyping methodology and the association of Ps with the threeIL13polymorphisms, rs1800925 (5′ promoter), rs20541 (exon 4), and rs848 (3′UTR) in the 467 Utah patients and 460 controls and GCI replication sample set (495 cases, 495 controls) are described in our previous publications (Cargill et al., 2007;Chang et al., 2008). An additional 233 patients from the Utah Psoriasis Initiative were also genotyped for rs20541and rs848 as part of the replication effort of the Genetics Association Information Network genome-wide association study of Ps (Nair et al., 2009).
Statistical analysis
Allelic OR and 95%CI were calculated by comparison of the total number of each allele found among cases and controls.P-value testing for differences in allele frequencies and genotype frequencies were calculated using Fisher's exact test (for allelicP-values) and William's corrected log-likelihood ratio test.T-tests were used to compare the means of quantitative variables between cases and controls and standard one-way analysis of variance was performed for comparisons among multiple groups defined by smoking status and genotype. One-way analysis of variance was used to determine the effect of the interaction of smoking and genotype on the delay of onset of PsA. All significance tests were two-sided, with the exception of the association analysis in the replication group, which was one-sided as the hypothesis for this analysis was defined by the direction of the allelic effect in the Utah samples. Statistical analyses were performed using STATA 9.0 (Stata Corp., College Station, TX).
Conflict of Interest
Steven J. Schrodi is employed by and owns stock in Celera Corporation, Alameda, CA.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Christopher Hansen, Jason Papenfuss, Jackie Panko, Matthew Hoffman, and Tyler Nelson for their work in enrolling the patients into the Utah Psoriasis Initiative. We would also like to thank Celera Corporation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Genetic Association Information Network for their ongoing support of this work.
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Background The use of biologic agents represents a remarkable advance for patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis who have experienced an incomplete response to other therapeutic modalities. Decreased mortality and improved quality of life have been reported in patients undergoing treatment with these agents. Increased risk ofbacterial, viral, granulomatous, and opportunistic infections also has been associated with the use of these medications. Enhanced patient education, watchful monitoring to promote early detection of infections, discontinuation of the medication when clinical symptoms are identified, and immediate availability of supportive care are advised to balance the benefit of treatment with biologic agents against the potential risk of infection. Herein, we discuss the risk of infection and the monitoring and vaccination guidelines in patients having psoriasis treated with biologic agents.
Observations A woman with obesity and psoriasis that had previously been successfully treated with efalizumab (Raptiva) for 3 years was started on a regimen of infliximab (Remicade) to treat a flare. She died 1 week after her first infusion of infliximab and was found to have had influenza A(H1N1).
Conclusions We report the first case to date of a patient with psoriasis who died of influenza A(H1N1) respiratory tract infection while undergoing treatment withinfliximab. Further observations are needed to make a causal association.
INTRODUCTION
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a proinflammatory cytokine produced predominantly by macrophages and T cells that facilitates the onset of a broad spectrum of biologicactivity that enhances the inflammatory response and the body's ability to defend itself against infection. Treatments targeted against TNF represent a remarkableadvance in improving the clinical symptoms and in possibly slowing the progression of several diseases.
Elevated levels of TNF have been detected in the serum and the epidermis of psoriatic plaques, in the serum and synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and those with ankylosing spondylitis, and in the serum and gut mucosa of patients with Crohn disease.1 Elevated TNF levels at the sites of inflammation are the direct causeof tissue damage. Tumor necrosis factor levels are also elevated systemically in these chronic inflammatory diseases. Herein, we report a fatal case of influenza A(H1N1) in a patient with obesity and extensive psoriasis who was found dead 1 week after her initial infusion of infliximab (Remicade) to treat a flare.
REPORT OF A CASE
A 55-year-old woman with psoriasis since childhood had failed treatment with numerous topical therapies. Weighing 94 kg, the patient was obese, with a body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) of 49.3. She had an excellent clinical response to efalizumab (Raptiva) therapy, which wasadministered at a dose of 1 mg/kg of body weight per week for 3 years. She was encouraged to consider other options after reports of cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in patients who had been using the medication for more than 3 years. Efalizumab therapy was discontinued, and the patient experienced a severe flare in her psoriasis several weeks later. Because of her weight and data demonstrating lesser responses of psoriasis to other biologic agents,2 infliximab was initiated ata dose of 5 mg/kg as a therapeutic agent. Friends of the decedent reported that the patient had experienced upper respiratory tract symptoms 4 days after the infusion. She was then discovered dead in her home 1 week after her initial infusion with infliximab. While using biologic agents for her psoriasis, she had received yearly inactivated influenza vaccines and purified protein derivative (PPD) skin tests.
An autopsy revealed no external signs of trauma. Important findings included an enlarged heart and granular kidneys, consistent with chronic hypertension. The larynx and trachea exhibitedareas of ulceration with tan-yellow exudate, and the lungs were markedly congested and edematous (2250 g) with scattered areas of firm and hemorrhagic parenchyma. Histologic sections ofthe lungs revealed vascular congestion and intraparenchymal hemorrhage with hyaline membrane formation, increased interstitial and airspace cellularity, type 2 pneumocyte hyperplasia, and focal intraalveolar fibrin deposition. These findings were consistent with diffuse alveolar damage, the pathologic correlate of severe acute respiratory syndrome. The laryngeal and tracheal mucosae exhibited acute and chronic inflammation with ulceration, as well as fibrinous exudate and cellular debris, consistent with a necrotizing process. Given the recent outbreak of influenzaA(H1N1) in the area and the gross pulmonary findings in the case, there was a high suspicion of this influenza in the patient. Nasopharyngeal swabs were tested by polymerase chain reactionand were positive for novel influenza A(H1N1).
COMMENT
Tumor necrosis factor blockers have demonstrated remarkable results in improving the clinical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis,3 psoriatic arthritis,4-5 and psoriasis6 and ininhibiting the progression of disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Sustained and significant increases in physical function and quality-of-life measures have been observed in patients treated with these medications.7 This improvement has resulted in clinically meaningful functional benefits that include fewer disabilities, higher employment rates, and lower health care costs.8
Studies1, 9-18 report an increased incidence of serious infections associated with the administration of biologic therapy (anti-TNF agents).
Patients having rheumatoid arthritis treated with TNF antagonists have dramatically decreased mortality,14, 19 as well as significant and clinically relevant improvement in physical function andquality of life, inhibition of progressive disease, and sustained improvement in the signs and symptoms of inflammation.7 The British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register reported a marked reduction in the incidence of myocardial infarction among patients receiving anticytokine agents.14, 16 A Scandinavian registry reported that treatment with TNF blockers is associated with a50% lower incidence of first cardiovascular events among patients with rheumatoid arthritis.19
The startlingly high 50% decrease in 5-year mortality from cardiovascular events among patients with rheumatoid arthritis19 who have received TNF blockers compared with other therapies must be balanced against the anticipated adverse effects of these biologic agents, which decrease inflammation and immune response. Although an increase in infections and malignant neoplasms has been reported,1, 9-18 the incidence has not reached sufficient clinical significance to decrease the overall mortality rate among patients receiving these medications.
Bongartz et al12 reported a significant increase in serious infections among patients treated with TNF antagonists, as well as a dose-dependent increase in the risk of malignant neoplasms.Pharmacokinetic investigations have demonstrated that infliximab dosages higher than 3 mg/kg every 8 weeks lead to a high risk of overexposure, with an excessive binding of TNF.20 Nestorovsuggested that lower dosages of the medication should be preferred based on a review of the published clinical trials, which demonstrated a statistically insignificant difference in clinical efficacy between low-dose anti-TNF antibody treatment (adalimumab, 20 mg every other week, or infliximab, 1 mg/kg every 4 weeks) and the substantially higher recommended dosages. Factors that need to be considered in determining the final dosage include medical history, clinical response to previous therapeutic agents, degree of disability, and disease progression. However, Nestorov did not consider the development of antichimeric antibodies, which have been shown to increase in patients treated with low-dose infliximab.21
According to Listing et al,17 the German biologics register (RABBIT [German acronym for rheumatoid arthritis-observation of biologic therapy]) documented a 2.7 to 2.8 times higher incidence ofserious infections among patients receiving biologic agents (etanercept or infliximab) compared with control subjects and a 3.3 to 4.1 times higher incidence of adverse events in general.Although almost one-third of the increase in the rate of adverse events could be attributed to differences in individual patient characteristics (eg, age, disease severity, comorbid conditions,and exposure to other immunosuppressive drugs), most of the increase was likely caused by the use of TNF inhibitors. Susceptibility to all types of infections is higher among patients receivinganti-TNF therapy, but the highest incidences of infections are for sepsis, urinary tract infections, bone and joint infections, lower respiratory tract infections (especially pneumonia), bacterialskin infections (erysipelas), and subcutaneous tissue infections.1, 14 The rate of serious infections associated with the use of biologic agents documented by Listing et al17 is similar to rates reported by others.7, 22-24
Patients receiving TNF antagonists have chronic inflammatory disease and are already predisposed to infections. This risk increases with age, disease severity, immunosupression from othertherapeutic modalities, and other comorbid conditions.17, 25 The suggestion that the risk is higher for bacterial infections than for viral infections is anecdotal and requires further confirmation.17
In Spain, the risk of tuberculosis was reported to be increased 20-fold among patients treated with infliximab vs control subjects.26 The risk of granulomatous infection is higher among patientstreated with the monoclonal TNF antibodies infliximab and adalimumab than with the soluble TNF receptor fusion protein etanercept; this difference is explained by the different modes ofaction.27 The Spanish registry disclosed a 78% decrease in the rate of active tuberculosis among patients treated with biologic agents after screening and management guidelines for latenttuberculosis were initiated.26 Our patient described herein was screened by PPD testing before initiation of treatment with a biologic agent, and she was subsequently screened on an annualbasis. All PPD test results were negative.
Increased bacterial, viral, granulomatous, and opportunistic infections have been reported1, 9-18 in patients receiving TNF antagonists. The desired mechanism of action in TNF antagonists that exerts powerful anti-inflammatory effects, which minimize the symptoms, severity, and progression of inflammatory disease, also blunts the inflammatory response to infection. In addition to older subjects, patients at high risk of developing serious infections include those receiving glucocorticosteroids and those having chronic disorders, more severe manifestations of disease, and comorbid conditions (eg, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, and obesity).
Our patient had developed biopsy specimen–documented herpes zoster during treatment with efalizumab. The literature about the risk of infections in patients treated with TNF antagonistspredominantly discusses bacterial infections and tuberculosis. To our knowledge, fewer data are available about the incidence of viral infections among these patients. Herpes zoster has been one of the more commonly reported adverse effects of anti-TNF agents. Strangfeld and Listing1 observed that treatment with the monoclonal anti-TNF antibodies adalimumab and infliximab isassociated with an increased risk of herpes zoster. This risk was independent of age, disease severity, or glucocorticosteroid use and was absent in patients treated with the receptor fusionprotein etanercept. The increased risk of herpes zoster due to inflammation associated with disease vs due to treatment with immunosuppressive drugs could not be distinguished in their study.
Several reports of bacterial infection followed by fatal sepsis have heightened concern about the use of TNF antagonists.17, 26, 28 However, the few randomized controlled trials available are underpowered, and definitive conclusions about the association between sepsis and TNF antagonist treatment cannot be made.7, 17, 23 In our patient, the temporal relationship and the factthat infliximab is immunosuppressive (with data showing increased upper and lower respiratory tract infections1, 9-18) raise the suspicion of a causal relationship, but no conclusion can be made solely based on this case report.
The recent global presentation of influenza A(H1N1) heightens concern among physicians that this virus may increase the risk of serious infections in patients undergoing treatment with TNFantagonists. The potential for the fast spread of this virus among susceptible populations and the difficulties in developing a vaccine and initiating an inoculation program against this rapidly mutating entity may pose a significant danger to patients receiving this class of medication.
The Medical Board of the National Psoriasis Foundation has set forth guidelines for monitoring and vaccinating patients treated with biologic agents for psoriasis.29 Intensive patient education to heighten awareness about early symptoms of infection and careful monitoring of patients treated with these medications are essential. Early detection of infection by routine history and physical examination and the initiation of immediate supportive care are critical because the sign-symptom complex may be blunted secondary to the anti-inflammatory effects of these medications.Tumor necrosis factor antagonists should be discontinued when there is clinical suspicion of an infection and should not be reinitiated until the condition of the patient is stabilized.
Evidence is lacking about whether vaccination is effective in preventing serious infections among patients treated with biologic agents, nor is there convincing evidence that vaccination isineffective. Package inserts for biologic agents give recommendations about vaccination. Before administration of biologic agents, standard vaccines should be administered when appropriate,including the following: tetanus, human papillomavirus, varicella, herpes zoster, influenza, pneumococcal, hepatitis A and B, meningococcal, and measles-mumps-rubella. Thereafter, patients should receive an annual inactivated influenza vaccine.29
We are uncertain whether the outcome in the case reported herein would have been better if the patient had received influenza A(H1N1) vaccination before infusion of infliximab (this vaccinewas unavailable before her death). With respect to antiviral therapy, given the outcome of this case it may be prudent to advise patients receiving biologic agents to report any upper respiratory tract symptoms early and to consider treatment with antiviral agents such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu). Further observations and studies are needed to make any conclusions.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Correspondence: Amir A. Larian, MD, Department of Dermatology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 5 E 98th St, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10029
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Accepted for Publication: January 26, 2010.
Author Contributions: All authors had full access to all the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.Acquisition of data: Kling, Larian, Scordi-Bello, and Lebwohl. Analysis and interpretation of data: Kling, Larian, Scordi-Bello, and Emer. Drafting of the manuscript: Klingand Larian. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Larian, Scordi-Bello, Emer, and Lebwohl. Administrative, technical, and material support: Larian and Emer.Study supervision: Lebwohl.
Financial Disclosure: None reported.
Author Affiliations: Departments of Dermatology (Mr Kling and Drs Larian, Emer, and Lebwohl) and Pathology (Dr Scordi-Bello), Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York.
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