High serum levels of HIF-1α in psoriatic patients correlate with an over-expression of IL-6

► HIF-1α and cytokine expression was analyzed in psoriasis patients and controls. ► We performed correlation analysis on HIF-1α and cytokine expression. ► We found increased HIF-1α protein psoriasis, correlated with increased IL-6. ► HIF-1α and/or IL-6 could be targets for therapeutic intervention in psoriasis. Angiogenesis has been considered to be an important step in the initiation and progression of chronic diseases such as psoriasis. The hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α), a critical hypoxia-induced factor that regulates angiogenesis has been shown previously to be over-expressed in psoriasis skin both at the mRNA and protein level. In this report we confirm HIF-1α and IL-6 over-expression in psoriatic patients using immunoenzymometric assay and found that the expression of HIF-1α is closely correlated with IL-6 expression (r=0.61 and p=0.005), suggesting a close interaction of HIF-1α and IL-6 in the psoriasis immuno-microenvironment. Our findings merit further in vitro and in vivo work before solid suggestions can be made for therapeutic interventions that target HIF-1α pathway and/or IL-6.