REPEATED TAPE STRIPPING OF NORMAL SKIN - A HISTOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT AND COMPARISON WITH EVENTS SEEN IN PSORIASIS

The aim of the present study was to investigate the response of normal human skin to repeated courses of Sellotape stripping. The skin of he althy volunteers was stripped five times at 24-h intervals. Skin biops ies were taken before stripping (day 0) and on days 2, 4, 7 and 10. Th e responses were studied using H and E staining and an immunohistochem ical analysis of several aspects of epidermal proliferation and kerati nization. although increased proliferation (nuclear binding to Ki-67 b inding), acanthosis and parakeratosis were observed, the overall histo logical picture did not resemble psoriatic histology completely: no mi cropustules of Kogoj and no thinning of the suprapapillary plate were observed. Involucrin staining followed the recruitment of cycling epid ermal cells showing a statistically significant elevation of positive cell layers from day 2 onwards. Filaggrin expression showed an increas e from day 2 onwards, which was statistically significant on day 7 and day 10. Using the anti-keratin antibodies KS8.12 (K13 and K16) and RK SE60 (K10) we observed a fast induction of K13/K16 expression, while t he staining of keratin 10 showed the same overall intensity at differe nt time intervals. In conclusion, the response to repeated courses of tape stripping provides an adequate model for studies on epidermal pro liferation, hypergranulosis and hyperkeratosis. This approach causes a more prolonged induction of these phenomena than a single course of s tripping. In contrast to the situation following a single course of st ripping, repeated tape stripping induced the expression of filaggrin, Therefore the repeated tape stripping model is less compatible with ps oriasis than a single course of stripping.