A new study at UC Davis Health has concluded that taking bile acids or treatments that regulate their production levels may help control inflammation caused by psoriasis. This has been published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
Psoriasis, which causes itchy and painful scales and red patches on the skin, is linked to the body’s immune system. The study suggests that bile acids may treat it by stopping immune T cells from producing the proinflammatory protein interleukin (IL)-17A and blocking the immune cell movement to the inflammation site.
The study built on previous work that had shown mice injected mice with DNA from IL-23, a protein generated by the immune cells that is responsible for many inflammatory autoimmune reactions, including psoriasis, had less redness, scaling and ear thickness when treated with three secondary bile acids than those treated with a placebo.
The researchers have now found that in the IL-23 mouse model, keratinocytes served as a major source of chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) in the skin. They found that the bile acid lithocholic acid diminished the production of IL-17A, prevented skin cells from producing CCL20 and blocked the development of psoriasis.
