Natalie Garzorz-Stark1, Felix Lauffer2, Linda Krause3, Jenny Thomas4, Anne Atenhan4, Regina Franz2, Sophie Roenneberg2, Alexander Boehner2, Manja Jargosch4, Richa Batra3, Nikola S Mueller3, Stefan Haak4, Christina Groß5, Olaf Groß5, Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann6, Fabian J Theis7, Carsten B Schmidt-Weber4, Tilo Biedermann2, Stefanie Eyerich4, Kilian Eyerich2. 1. Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany. Electronic address: natalie.garzorz@tum.de. 2. Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany. 3. Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Center Munich, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Neuherberg, Germany. 4. ZAUM-Center of Allergy and Environment, Technical University and Helmholtz Center Munich, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Munich, Germany. 5. Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany. 6. Institute of Environmental Medicine UNIKAT, Technical University and Helmholtz Center Munich, Augsburg, Germany. 7. Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Center Munich, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Neuherberg, Germany; Department of Mathematics, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: A standardized human model to study early pathogenic events in patients with psoriasis is missing. Activation of Toll-like receptor 7/8 by means of topical application of imiquimod is the most commonly used mouse model of psoriasis. OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate the potential of a human imiquimod patch test model to resemble human psoriasis. METHODS: Imiquimod (Aldara 5% cream; 3M Pharmaceuticals, St Paul, Minn) was applied twice a week to the backs of volunteers (n = 18), and development of skin lesions was monitored over a period of 4 weeks. Consecutive biopsy specimens were taken for whole-genome expression analysis, histology, and T-cell isolation. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) were isolated from whole blood, stimulated with Toll-like receptor 7 agonist, and analyzed by means of extracellular flux analysis and real-time PCR. RESULTS: We demonstrate that imiquimod induces a monomorphic and self-limited inflammatory response in healthy subjects, as well as patients with psoriasis or eczema. The clinical and histologic phenotype, as well as the transcriptome, of imiquimod-induced inflammation in human skin resembles acute contact dermatitis rather than psoriasis. Nevertheless, the imiquimod model mimics the hallmarks of psoriasis. In contrast to classical contact dermatitis, in which myeloid dendritic cells sense haptens, pDCs are primary sensors of imiquimod. They respond with production of proinflammatory and TH17-skewing cytokines, resulting in a TH17 immune response with IL-23 as a key driver. In a proof-of-concept setting systemic treatment with ustekinumab diminished imiquimod-induced inflammation. CONCLUSION: In human subjects imiquimod induces contact dermatitis with the distinctive feature that pDCs are the primary sensors, leading to an IL-23/TH17 deviation. Despite these shortcomings, the human imiquimod model might be useful to investigate early pathogenic events and prove molecular concepts in patients with psoriasis.
BACKGROUND: A standardized human model to study early pathogenic events in patients with psoriasis is missing. Activation of Toll-like receptor 7/8 by means of topical application of imiquimod is the most commonly used mouse model of psoriasis. OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate the potential of a humanimiquimod patch test model to resemble humanpsoriasis. METHODS:Imiquimod (Aldara 5% cream; 3M Pharmaceuticals, St Paul, Minn) was applied twice a week to the backs of volunteers (n = 18), and development of skin lesions was monitored over a period of 4 weeks. Consecutive biopsy specimens were taken for whole-genome expression analysis, histology, and T-cell isolation. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) were isolated from whole blood, stimulated with Toll-like receptor 7 agonist, and analyzed by means of extracellular flux analysis and real-time PCR. RESULTS: We demonstrate that imiquimod induces a monomorphic and self-limited inflammatory response in healthy subjects, as well as patients with psoriasis or eczema. The clinical and histologic phenotype, as well as the transcriptome, of imiquimod-induced inflammation in human skin resembles acute contact dermatitis rather than psoriasis. Nevertheless, the imiquimod model mimics the hallmarks of psoriasis. In contrast to classical contact dermatitis, in which myeloid dendritic cells sense haptens, pDCs are primary sensors of imiquimod. They respond with production of proinflammatory and TH17-skewing cytokines, resulting in a TH17 immune response with IL-23 as a key driver. In a proof-of-concept setting systemic treatment with ustekinumab diminished imiquimod-induced inflammation. CONCLUSION: In human subjects imiquimod induces contact dermatitis with the distinctive feature that pDCs are the primary sensors, leading to an IL-23/TH17 deviation. Despite these shortcomings, the humanimiquimod model might be useful to investigate early pathogenic events and prove molecular concepts in patients with psoriasis.
Authors: Yan Zhou; Dan Han; Taylor Follansbee; Xuesong Wu; Sebastian Yu; Bo Wang; Zhenrui Shi; Dan T Domocos; Mirela Carstens; Earl Carstens; Samuel T Hwang Journal: J Cell Mol Med Date: 2019-05-21 Impact factor: 5.310
Authors: Kilian Eyerich; Sara J Brown; Bethany E Perez White; Reiko J Tanaka; Robert Bissonette; Sandipan Dhar; Thomas Bieber; Dirk J Hijnen; Emma Guttman-Yassky; Alan Irvine; Jacob P Thyssen; Christian Vestergaard; Thomas Werfel; Andreas Wollenberg; Amy S Paller; Nick J Reynolds Journal: J Allergy Clin Immunol Date: 2018-11-07 Impact factor: 10.793
Authors: Tessa van der Kolk; Salma Assil; Rianne Rijneveld; Erica S Klaassen; Gary Feiss; Edwin Florencia; Errol P Prens; Jacobus Burggraaf; Matthijs Moerland; Robert Rissmann; Martijn B A van Doorn Journal: Clin Transl Sci Date: 2018-07-03 Impact factor: 4.689
Authors: Yale Liu; Christopher Cook; Andrew J Sedgewick; Shuyi Zhang; Marlys S Fassett; Roberto R Ricardo-Gonzalez; Paymann Harirchian; Sakeen W Kashem; Sho Hanakawa; Jacob R Leistico; Jeffrey P North; Mark A Taylor; Wei Zhang; Mao-Qiang Man; Alexandra Charruyer; Nadejda Beliakova-Bethell; Stephen C Benz; Ruby Ghadially; Theodora M Mauro; Daniel H Kaplan; Kenji Kabashima; Jaehyuk Choi; Jun S Song; Raymond J Cho; Jeffrey B Cheng Journal: iScience Date: 2020-09-19