Artesunate alleviates imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like dermatitis. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Artesunate alleviates imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like dermatitis in BALB/c mice.
Int Immunopharmacol. 2019 Oct ;75:105817. Epub 2019 Aug 23. PMID: 31446161
Zhong-Zhou Huang
Artesunate (ART), a derivative of artemisinin, is a medication to treat malaria. Beyond that, the anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory activities of ART have been identified in autoimmune diseases. However, whether ART functions in psoriasis-like dermatitis induced by imiquimod (IMQ, a TLR7/8 agonist) is currently unkown. There, we found that the cumulative score, epidermal thickening and expression of Ki-67 of ART-treated BALB/c mice were significantly lower than those in the IMQ psoriatic model group. In addition, ART treatment ameliorated mice from systemic inflammation. Mechanistically, ART reducedγδ T cells in draining lymph nodes, which might be benefit the improvement of dermatitis. These findings suggested that ART could be a promising drug of psoriasis in clinic.