Curcumin Alleviates Epidermal Psoriasis-Like Dermatitis and IL-6/STAT3 Pathway of Mice.

BACKGROUND

To further investigate why curcumin (CUR) can attenuate psoriasis-like dermatitis of mice.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Sixteen mice were randomized into four groups. The control group used carrier cream, and the model and the CUR group were applied with topical 5% imiquimod in the naked mice skin once a day for 6 days (62.5 mg/day/mice). Meanwhile, the control and model mice were given the same dose of saline by oral means, while mice in the CUR groups received oral drug doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg once a day for 6 days, respectively. CUR could largely improve imiquimod-induced lesions of mice. By using the ELISA and qPCR, we found that the protein and mRNA levels of epidermal TNF-α and IL-6 were inhibited by CUR. The phosphorylation levels of STAT3 and its downstream associated protein levels (eg, Cyclin D1, Bcl-2 and Pim1) in skin tissues of different groups were also inhibited by CUR. Furthermore, the results of immunohistochemistry also showed the repressed effect of CUR for the expression of TNF-α, IL-6 and p-STAT3 in psoriasis-like lesions of mice.

CONCLUSION

CUR can effectively ameliorate the featured lesions of psoriasis mice, which may be closely associated with the involvement of IL-6/STAT3 signaling.