Normal and psoriatic human skin grafts on "nude" mice: morphological and immunochemical studies.

124 normal and psoriatic human skin grafts were performed on congenitally athymic nude mice. 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 days after grafting, histological and immunochemical studies (using bullous pemphigoid, pemphigus vulgaris and anti 67 K keratin polypeptide immune sera) were performed. The preservation of certain immunological identities of grafted skin, at least with regard to intercellular substance and basement membrane, was observed and the keratinization pattern of human epidermis also remained unaltered throughout the post-grafting period. The typical clubbing of rate ridges/acanthosis pattern in psoriatic skin was preserved in 40% of involved psoriatic skin grafts. The possible significance of these findings is discussed.