We observed that CD4<sup>+</sup> T cells in blood and skin lesions of GPP patients were characterized by intense hyperproliferation, production of the GPP key mediator, IL-17A, and highly restricted TCR repertoires with identical T-cell clones in blood and skin lesions, indicating antigen-driven T-cell expansions.
Polymerase chain reaction analysis with T-cell receptor γ-chain gene rearrangement (TCR-γR) was performed on the original lymph node and new skin lesions.
V-D-J junctional regions of T cell receptor beta-chain variable region gene families 2, 3, 6, 13S1, and BV17 were cloned and sequenced, as these particular BV gene families are preferentially selected in psoriatic skin lesions.
By semiquantitative PCR, we found that overexpression of either or both V beta 2 and V beta 6 gene families characterized the TCR repertoires of normal skin and psoriatic skin lesions.