Effetto del trattamento con etretinato sulla fluidità e composizione lipidica della membrana eritrocitaria in pazienti con psoriasi.

The effect of etretinate (Ro 10-9359) treatment, at low daily dose (0.3 mg/kg), on erythrocyte membrane and physico-chemical state in psoriatic patients has been studied. The results have shown that etretinate induces a significant increase of erythrocyte membrane fluidity, as shown by a decrease of fluorescence polarization. In fact the values of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) fluorescence polarization were significantly decreased after therapy in comparison with the values observed at the beginning of the study. The modifications of membrane fluidity were associated with modifications of lipid composition. In fact the study of membrane composition has revealed a decrease of the cholesterol to protein ratio and slight but not significant changes of phospholipid fatty acid composition.