Interleukin-10 in dermatology

In recent years the investigation of cytokines has been a focus of scientif ic interest in order to understand the pathogenesis of a variety of disease s.In additions cytokines are increasingly being used for therapeutic purpos es, including dermatologic disorders.IL-10 is a recently described cytokine with antiinflammatory and immunosuppressive qualities which plays an impor tant role in immunoregulation.The overexpression of this mediator has been proven in some inflammatory dermatoses as well as in various skin tumors.Th ese observations help to understand down regulatory events in hyper-inflamm atory conditions such as allergic or toxic dermatitis on the one hand and t he suppression of an adequate anti-tumor response and thereby the progressi on of malignant tumors on the other hand. Recent investigations indicate a relative IL-10 deficiency in psoriasis.Initial therapeutic applications of IL-10 in psoriasis underline the pathophysiological importance of this cyto kine.