Altered keratin 17 peptide ligands inhibit in vitro proliferation of keratinocytes and T cells isolated from patients with psoriasis.

Background: Identification of critical autoantigenic T-cell epitopes is key to developing antigen-based therapies for autoimmune diseases, including psoriasis. Our previous work demonstrated that 3 peptides on keratin 17 are able to stimulate peripheral blood lymphocytes of HLA-DRB1*07-positive patients with psoriasis and to serve as immunodominant T-cell epitopes.

Objective: We sought to determine antagonistic altered peptide ligands to psoriatic T cells with a down-modulatory effect in inhibiting keratinocyte proliferation.