RESUMO
The aim of this study is to explore the effect of narrow band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) on the chemokine receptor CCR6 mRNA levels in patients with psoriasis. Psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) values were recorded before and after the treatment with NB-UVB phototherapy of 30 psoriasis vulgaris patients. The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction method was used to detect the expression level of CCR6 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and compared with 30 healthy subjects. The PASI value of the 30 psoriasis vulgaris patients decreased significantly after 15 iterations of phototherapy treatment (P < 0.01). The expression level of CCR6 mRNA in psoriasis patients was significantly higher than in the healthy controls (P < 0.01), while the expression level of CCR6 mRNA decreased significantly after phototherapy (P < 0.01). Reduction of CCR6 level may be one of the mechanisms through which NB-UVB can treat psoriasis.