Is syk kinase implicated in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis pathogenesis?

There is much interest in finding new targets for the treatment of arthritis and skin diseases that are caused by
inflammation. Recently a new class of drugs entitled kinase inhibitors have been developed that have been very
effective in clinical trials in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. In particular a medicine called fostamatinib has
been shown to be effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis – this drug targets a particular molecule called syk
kinase. We will explore the presence and function of syk kinase in tissues derived from patients with psoriasis
and psoriatic arthritis to establish whether this might also be a valid target for application in these diseases in due
course.