Treating psoriasis by targeting its susceptibility gene Rel.

Treating psoriasis by targeting its susceptibility gene Rel.
Clin Immunol. 2016 Mar 15;
Authors: Fan T, Wang S, Yu L, Yi H, Liu R, Geng W, Wan X, Ma Y, Cai L, Chen YH, Ruan Q
Abstract
Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the skin. Accumulating evidence indicates that the Rel gene, a member of the NF-κB family, is a risk factor for the disease. We sought to investigate whether psoriasis can be prevented by directly targeting the Rel gene transcript, i.e., the c-Rel mRNA. Using chemically-modified c-Rel specific siRNA (siRel) and poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(l-lysine)-b-poly(l-leucine) (PEG-PLL-PLLeu) micelles, we successfully knocked down the expression of c-Rel, and showed that the expression of cytokine IL-23, a direct target of c-Rel that can drive the development of IL-17-producing T cells, was markedly inhibited. More importantly, treating mice with siRel not only prevented but also ameliorated imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis. Mechanistic studies showed that siRel treatment down-regulated the expression of multiple inflammatory cytokines. Taken together, these results indicate that the susceptibility gene Rel can be targeted to treat and prevent psoriasis.
PMID: 26993753 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Clinical Immunology - March 15, 2016 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Fan T, Wang S, Yu L, Yi H, Liu R, Geng W, Wan X, Ma Y, Cai L, Chen YH, Ruan Q Tags: Clin Immunol Source Type: research