The effect of etanercept on vascular endothelial growth factor production by cutaneous mesenchymal stem cells from patients with psoriasis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate prospectively the effect of etanercept (a tumour necrosis factor [TNF]-α inhibitor) on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production by mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from patients with psoriasis. METHODS: MSCs from lesional and perilesional skin were isolated, cultured and characterized. VEGF production was evaluated at baseline and after 12 weeks’ etanercept treatment. RESULTS: Etanercept treatment resulted in significant reductions in VEGF production compared with baseline in both lesional MSCs (256.42 ± 3.07 pg/ml per 10(6) cells at baseline vs 27.66 ± 2.03 pg/ml per 10(6) cells after treatment) and perilesional MSCs (235.03 ± 2.52 pg/ml per 10(6) cells vs 41.65 ± 4.72 pg/ml per 10(6) cells). CONCLUSIONS: Etanercept reduces the production of VEGF in MSCs, which may modulate angiogenesis and contributes towards preventing the start of the “psoriatic march”.