Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by excessive growth of keratinocytes and hyperkeratosis in the epidermis. An abnormality of the non-lesional epidermis at an early stage of psoriasis is involved in triggering inflammatory cell infiltration into the dermis. Integrin α5β1 acts as a receptor for fibronectin and has been found to be overexpressed in non-lesional psoriatic epidermis. To investigate whether α5β1 integrin has a potential as a drug target for psoriasis treatment， the α5β1 integrin-binding peptide， C16， was used to obstruct the HaCat keratinocyte cellular responses induced by fibronectin (Fn) in culture and psoriasis-like skin inflammation induced in mice by imi... More
Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by excessive growth of keratinocytes and hyperkeratosis in the epidermis. An abnormality of the non-lesional epidermis at an early stage of psoriasis is involved in triggering inflammatory cell infiltration into the dermis. Integrin α5β1 acts as a receptor for fibronectin and has been found to be overexpressed in non-lesional psoriatic epidermis. To investigate whether α5β1 integrin has a potential as a drug target for psoriasis treatment， the α5β1 integrin-binding peptide， C16， was used to obstruct the HaCat keratinocyte cellular responses induced by fibronectin (Fn) in culture and psoriasis-like skin inflammation induced in mice by imiquimod (IMQ). The C16 exhibited antagonistic activity against α5β1 integrin in HaCat cells， with evidence of suppression of the Fn-mediated proliferative， cytoskeletal， and inflammatory responses. Topical treatment with C16 greatly reduced the IMQ-induced epidermal hyperplasia， infiltration of neutrophils/macrophages， and expression of pro-inflammatory mediators in mouse skin. The C16SP (C16-derived short peptide; DITYVRLKF) also exhibited antagonistic activity， suppressing α5β1 integrin activity in culture， and reducing IMQ-induced skin inflammation. Taken together， this study provides the first evidence that α5β1 integrin may be a potential drug target for psoriasis. The synthetic C16 peptide may serve as an agent for psoriasis therapy.
