Long-lasting skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema involve problems with how the body’s immune system works. Scientists discovered that two connected immune signals called CCL20 and CCR6 are abnormally high in the inflamed skin of people with these diseases. Researchers created special mice lacking these immune signals to understand what happens without them. When they triggered a psoriasis-like condition in these modified mice, the disease was noticeably milder compared to normal mice, with reduced inflammation markers and fewer problematic immune cells invading the skin. In an eczema-like model, the modified mice also showed roughly forty percent less disease severity, though with somewhat different immune changes.
The results suggest that the CCL20-CCR6 system plays a major role in driving psoriasis but contributes less significantly to eczema-type inflammation. These findings point to this immune pathway as a promising target for developing new psoriasis treatments. (Source: Int Immunol, via PubMed.)
Source: PubMed — read the full article