STAT3/SH3PXD2A-AS1/miR-125b/STAT3 positive feedback loop affects psoriasis pathogenesis via regulating human keratinocyte proliferation

She-Chuang-Si-Wu-Tang Alleviates Inflammation and Itching Symptoms in a Psoriasis Mouse Model by Regulating the Th17/IL-17 Axis via the STAT3/MAPK Pathways

Purpose

Psoriasis is an immune-related disorder characterized by silver scales, epidermis thickness, and itching. She-Chuang-Si-Wu-Tang (SSWT), a traditional Chinese medicine decoction, has been used clinically for 400 years. Although it benefits psoriasis treatment, the mechanism of action is still unclear. This study explores SSWT's molecular mechanism in treating psoriasis through network pharmacology analysis and experiments.

Methods

We identified relevant SSWT and psoriasis targets using network pharmacology and conducted SSWT quality control with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A mouse model of psoriasis was established using imiquimod (IMQ), with the drug administered continuously for seven days, spanning an eight-day period. During the experiment, we observed spontaneous scratching behaviors and assessed the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores. At the conclusion of the experiment, we examined skin tissue pathology under an optical microscope and measured epidermal thickness. Additionally, we used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to measure interleukin (IL)-23, IL-17A, IL-17F, and interferon (IFN)-γ levels in the mice's serum and their mRNA expression in the skin. Western blot analysis was conducted to assess protein levels related to signaling pathways.

Results

Results indicate that SSWT may target IL-17 signaling pathways and T helper (Th) 17 cell differentiation, as predicted by network pharmacology. SSWT significantly improved the PASI and Baker scores, reduced epidermal thickness, and decreased spontaneous scratching in IMQ-induced mice. Additionally, SSWT treatment significantly lowered the concentrations of inflammatory factors in the serum and skin lesions, as well as mRNA expression levels, compared to the IMQ group. Furthermore, SSWT significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of both the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways.

Conclusion

In summary, this study unveiled the potential anti-psoriatic mechanism of SSWT, offering new evidence for its clinical application.

Uridine phosphorylase-1 promotes cell viability and cell-cycle progression in human epidermal keratinocytes via the glycolytic pathway

Glycolysis is vital for the excessive proliferation of keratinocytes in psoriasis, and uridine phosphorylase-1 (UPP1) functions as an enhancer of cancer cell proliferation. However, little is known about whether UPP1 promotes keratinocyte proliferation and accelerates psoriasis development. This study revealed that UPP1 facilitates cell viability and cell-cycle progression in human epidermal keratinocytes (HEKs) by modulating the glycolytic pathway. Bioinformatics analysis of UPP1 gene expression and its correlation with the Reactome revealed that UPP1 mRNA expression, cell-cycle progression, the interleukin-6 (IL-6)/Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway and glycolysis were positively associated with psoriasis. Cell proliferation, the cell cycle and glycolysis were evaluated after UPP1 was silenced or overexpressed. The results showed that UPP1 overexpression increased cell proliferation, cell-cycle progression and glycolysis, which was contrary to the effects of UPP1 silencing. However, the STAT3 inhibitor diminished UPP1 expression because STAT3 can bind to the UPP1 promoter. In conclusion, UPP1 was significantly activated by the IL-6/STAT3 pathway and could modulate glycolysis to regulate cell proliferation and cell-cycle progression in keratinocytes during the development of psoriasis.

Decreased HMGCS1 inhibits proliferation and inflammatory response of keratinocytes and ameliorates imiquimod-induced psoriasis via the STAT3/IL-23 axis

Psoriasis is an immuno-inflammatory disease characterized by excessive keratinocyte proliferation, requiring extensive lipids. 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A synthase 1 (HMGCS1) is an essential enzyme in the mevalonate pathway, involved in cholesterol synthesis and the inflammatory response. However, the role of HMGCS1 in psoriasis has remained elusive. This study aims to elucidate the mechanism by which HMGCS1 controls psoriasiform inflammation. We discovered an increased abundance of HMGCS1 in psoriatic lesions when analyzing two Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets and confirmed this in psoriatic animal models and psoriatic patients by immunohistochemistry. In a TNF-α stimulated psoriatic HaCaT cell line, HMGCS1 was found to be overexpressed. Knockdown of HMGCS1 using siRNA suppressed the migration and proliferation of HaCaT cells. Mechanistically, HMGCS1 downregulation also reduced the expression of IL-23 and the STAT3 phosphorylation level. In imiquimod-induced psoriatic mice, intradermal injection of HMGCS1 siRNA significantly decreased the expression of HMGCS1 in the epidermis, which in turn led to an improvement in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score, epidermal thickening, and pathological Baker score. Additionally, expression levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-23, IL1-β, chemokine CXCL1, and innate immune mediator S100A7-9 were downregulated in the epidermis. In conclusion, HMGCS1 downregulation improved psoriasis in vitro and in vivo through the STAT3/IL-23 axis.

Topical Delivery of microRNA-125b by Framework Nucleic Acids for Psoriasis Treatment

Purpose

Psoriasis is a chronic and recurrent inflammatory dermatitis characterized by T cell imbalance and abnormal keratinocyte proliferation. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) hold promise as therapeutic agents for this disease; however, their clinical application is hindered by poor stability and limited skin penetration. This study demonstrates the utilization of Framework Nucleic Acid (FNA) for the topical delivery of miRNAs in psoriasis treatment.

Methods

By utilizing miRNA-125b as the model drug, FNA-miR-125b was synthesized via self-assembly. The successful synthesis and stability of FNA-miR-125b in bovine fetal serum (FBS) were verified through gel electrophoresis. Subsequently, flow cytometry was employed to investigate the cell internalization on HaCaT cells, while qPCR determined the effects of FNA-miR-125b on cellular functions. Additionally, the skin penetration ability of FNA-miR-125b was assessed. Finally, a topical administration study involving FNA-miR-125b cream on imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis mice was conducted to evaluate its therapeutic efficacy.

Results

The FNA-miR-125b exhibited excellent stability, efficient cellular internalization, and potent inhibition of keratinocyte proliferation. In the psoriasis mouse model, FNA-miR-125b effectively penetrated the skin tissue, resulting in reduced epidermal thickness and PASI score, as well as decreased levels of inflammatory cytokines.

Signaling pathways and targeted therapies for psoriasis

Psoriasis is a common, chronic, and inflammatory skin disease with a high burden on individuals, health systems, and society worldwide. With the immunological pathologies and pathogenesis of psoriasis becoming gradually revealed, the therapeutic approaches for this disease have gained revolutionary progress. Nevertheless, the mechanisms of less common forms of psoriasis remain elusive. Furthermore, severe adverse effects and the recurrence of disease upon treatment cessation should be noted and addressed during the treatment, which, however, has been rarely explored with the integration of preliminary findings. Therefore, it is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms behind psoriasis pathogenesis, which might offer new insights for research and lead to more substantive progress in therapeutic approaches and expand clinical options for psoriasis treatment. In this review, we looked to briefly introduce the epidemiology, clinical subtypes, pathophysiology, and comorbidities of psoriasis and systematically discuss the signaling pathways involving extracellular cytokines and intracellular transmission, as well as the cross-talk between them. In the discussion, we also paid more attention to the potential metabolic and epigenetic mechanisms of psoriasis and the molecular mechanistic cascades related to its comorbidities. This review also outlined current treatment for psoriasis, especially targeted therapies and novel therapeutic strategies, as well as the potential mechanism of disease recurrence.

Genome-Wide Differential Transcription of Long Noncoding RNAs in Psoriatic Skin

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) may contribute to the formation of psoriatic lesions. The present study's objective was to identify long lncRNA genes that are differentially expressed in patient samples of psoriasis through computational analysis techniques. By using previously published RNA sequencing data from psoriatic and healthy patients (n = 324), we analysed the differential expression of lncRNAs to determine transcripts of heightened expression. We computationally screened lncRNA transcripts as annotated by GENCODE across the human genome and compared transcription in psoriatic and healthy samples from two separate studies. We observed 54 differentially expressed genes as seen in two independent datasets collected from psoriasis and healthy patients. We also identified the differential expression of LINC01215 and LINC1206 associated with the cell cycle pathway and psoriasis pathogenesis. SH3PXD2A-AS1 was identified as a participant in the STAT3/SH3PXD2A-AS1/miR-125b/STAT3 positive feedback loop. Both the SH3PXD2A-AS1 and CERNA2 genes have already been recognised as part of the IFN-γ signalling pathway regulation. Additionally, EPHA1-AS1, CYP4Z2P and SNHG12 gene upregulation have all been previously linked to inflammatory skin diseases. Differential expression of various lncRNAs affects the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Further characterisation of lncRNAs and their functions are important for developing our understanding of psoriasis.

A panel of blood-based circulatory miRNAs with diagnostic potential in patients with psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with keratinocyte hyperproliferation and T cells as key mediators of lesional and systemic inflammatory changes. To date, no suitable differential biomarkers are available for the disease diagnosis. More recently, microRNAs have been identified as critical regulators of lesional and systemic immune changes in psoriasis with diagnostic potential. We have performed expression profiling of T cell-specific miRNAs in 38 plasma samples from psoriasis vulgaris patients and an equal number of age- and gender-matched healthy subjects. Our findings have identified a panel of five blood-based circulatory miRNAs with a significant change in their expression levels, comprising miR-215, miR-148a, miR-125b-5p, miR-223, and miR-142-3p, which can differentiate psoriasis vulgaris patients from healthy individuals. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for all five miRNAs individually and in combination exhibited a significant disease discriminatory area under the curve with an AUC of 0.762 and a p < 0.0001 for all the miRNAs together. Statistically, all five miRNAs in combination depicted the best-fit model in relation to disease severity (PASI) compared with individual miRNAs, with the highest R2 value of 0.94 and the lowest AIC score of 131.8. Each of the miRNAs also exhibited a significant association with at least one of the other miRNAs in the panel. Importantly, the five miRNAs in the panel regulate one or more immune-inflammation pathways based on target prediction, pathway network analysis, and validated roles in the literature. The miRNA panel provides a rationalized combination of biomarkers that can be tested further on an expanded cohort of patients for their diagnostic value.

Long Non-Coding RNA-GDA-1 Promotes Keratinocyte Proliferation and Psoriasis Inflammation by Regulating the STAT3/NF-κB Signaling Pathway via Forkhead Box M1

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease associated with multiple comorbidities and complex pathogenesis. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important regulatory role in many diseases, including psoriasis. In this study, We aimed to investigate the role and mechanism of lncRNA GDA-1 (GDA) in M5-treated psoriatic keratinocytes. GDA expression was significantly upregulated in psoriatic tissues and M5-treated keratinocytes. By silencing and overexpressing GDA in NHEKs and Ker-CT cells, we showed that GDA regulated proliferation and cell cycle and increased secretion of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and chemokine ligands 2 and 20 (CCL2 and CCL20). RNA sequencing after GDA silencing led to the identification of a close regulatory relationship between GDA and Forkhead Box M1 (FOXM1). GDA significantly influenced FOXM1 expression at both mRNA and protein levels and activated STAT3/NF-κB signaling pathways. STAT3 and NF-κB inhibition abrogated GDA effects on keratinocyte proliferation and inflammation. In conclusion, our study is the first to report that Lnc-GDA-1 distinctly regulates FOXM1 expression and mediates proliferation and inflammation of psoriatic keratinocytes through the STAT3/NF-κB signaling pathway, which may be a potent target for psoriasis treatment.

Mechanism of Huoluo Xiaoling Dan in the Treatment of Psoriasis Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

Objective

To explore the mechanism of the action of Huoluo Xiaoling Dan (HLXLD) in the treatment of psoriasis based on network pharmacology and molecular docking.

Methods

The main active components and targets of HLXLD were collected from CMSP, and the targets related to psoriasis were collected from GeneCards, OMIM, TTD, DisGeNET, and DrugBank. Drug disease target genes were obtained by Venny tools, drug-component-target networks were constructed and analyzed, and pathway enrichment analysis was performed. AutoDockTools is used to connect the core components and the target, and PyMOL software is used to visualize the results.

Results

126 active components (such as quercetin, luteolin, tanshinone IIA, dihydrotanshinlactone, and beta-sitosterol) and 238 targets of HLXLD were screened out. 1,293 targets of psoriasis were obtained, and 123 drug-disease targets were identified. Key targets included AKT1, TNF, IL6, TP53, VEGFA, JUN, CASP3, IL1B, STAT3, PTGS2, HIF1A, EGF, MYC, EGFR, MMP9, and PPARG. Enrichment analysis showed that 735 GO analysis and 85 KEGG pathways were mainly involved in biological processes such as response to the drug, inflammatory response, gene expression, and cell proliferation and apoptosis, as well as signal pathways such as cancer, TNF, HIF-1, and T cell receptor. Molecular docking showed that there was strong binding activity between the active ingredient and the target protein.

Conclusions

HLXLD could treat psoriasis through multicomponents, multitargets, and multipathways, which provides a new theoretical basis for further basic research and clinical application.

Dysregulation of Survivin-Targeting microRNAs in Autoimmune Diseases: New Perspectives for Novel Therapies

It has been well established that the etiopathogenesis of diverse autoimmune diseases is rooted in the autoreactive immune cells' excessively proliferative state and impaired apoptotic machinery. Survivin is an anti-apoptotic and mitotic factor that has sparked a considerable research interest in this field. Survivin overexpression has been shown to contribute significantly to the development of autoimmune diseases via autoreactive immune cell overproliferation and apoptotic dysregulation. Several microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) have been discovered to be involved in survivin regulation, rendering the survivin-miRNA axis a perspective target for autoimmune disease therapy. In this review, we discuss the role of survivin as an immune regulator and a highly implicated protein in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, the significance of survivin-targeting miRNAs in autoimmunity, and the feasibility of targeting the survivin-miRNA axis as a promising therapeutic option for autoimmune diseases.

P. granatum Peel Polysaccharides Ameliorate Imiquimod-Induced Psoriasis-Like Dermatitis in Mice via Suppression of NF-κB and STAT3 Pathways

Psoriasis is a chronic and refractory inflammatory and autoimmune-mediated cutaneous disease affecting approximately 2%–3% of the global population. Most of the current therapies could relieve symptoms rapidly, while the side effects cannot be negligible. Hence, it is urgent to explore much safer and more effective treatments. In the current work, we evaluated the potential beneficial effect of Punica granatum peel polysaccharides (PPPs) in an imiquimod-elicited psoriasis-like mouse model and unraveled their mechanism of action. Firstly, PPPs were isolated from P. granatum peels, and then the molecular weight was determined and monosaccharide analysis was performed. The results revealed that PPPs significantly ameliorated psoriasis-like skin lesions and reduced the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores and transepidermal water loss (TEWL). PPPs also attenuated the expressions of CD3 and Ki67 in psoriasis-like mouse skin and suppressed the serum or skin levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-1β, IL-8, IL-17, and IL-23. Moreover, PPPs were able to upregulate the mRNA and protein expressions of aquaporin-3 (AQP3) and filaggrin (FLG) in the skin of mice. In addition, PPPs inhibited the NF-κB and STAT3 signaling pathways. Overall, these results indicated that PPPs ameliorated the symptoms of psoriasis through inhibition of the inflammatory cytokines by suppressing the NF-κB and STAT3 signaling pathways and improved skin barrier protection via enhancing AQP3 and FLG. These observations potentially contribute to providing theoretical and experimental evidence for the clinical application of PPPs for psoriasis.