Abstract
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a multifactorial inflammatory skin disease of complex etiology. Despite its increasing prevalence, treatment for AD is still limited. Crude drugs, including herbal extracts or natural resources, are being used to treat AD symptoms, with minimum side effects. Cicadidae Periostracum (CP), derived from the slough of insects belonging to the family Cicadidae, is a commonly used crude drug in traditional Asian medicine to treat/control epilepsy, shock, and edema. However, the effect of CP on AD-like skin lesions is unknown. In this study, we examined the effect of a CP water extract on AD disease development in vivo, using a house dust mite-induced AD mouse model, and in vitro, using HaCaT keratinocytes and a 3D human skin equivalent system. Importantly, CP administration alleviated house dust mite-induced AD-like symptoms, suggested by the quantified dermatitis scores, animal scratching behaviors, skin moisture retention capacity, and skin lesion and ear thickness. Furthermore, histopathological analysis demonstrated that CP decreased intralesional mast cell infiltration. In addition, CP treatments decreased the systemic levels of immunoglobulin E, histamine, and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and the local mRNA expression of TSLP and several Th1/Th2 cytokines. Our data suggest that these effects were mediated by the inhibition of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation. In vivo and in vitro CP treatments resulted in the downregulation of inflammasome components, such as ASC and cleaved caspase-1, as well as related mediators such as IL-1β and reactive oxygen species. Collectively, our results suggest that CP is a potential therapeutic agent for AD, controlling inflammatory responses through the suppression of NLRP3 inflammasome activation.
Highlights
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a multifactorial inflammatory skin disease of complex etiology, resulting from the interaction of genetic, environmental, and psychological factors [1]
Animals treated with Cicadidae Periostracum (CP) 1 and 3% preparations showed less severe dermatitis scores, significantly lower than the ones obtained for the untreated control group (Figure 1(b))
The groups of animals treated with CP 1 and 3% preparations showed a reduction in scratching times (Figure 1(c))
Summary
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a multifactorial inflammatory skin disease of complex etiology, resulting from the interaction of genetic, environmental, and psychological factors [1]. AD onset is attributed to hypersensitive immune cells, including keratinocytes, monocytes, and dendritic cells, which overreact to environmental agents, such as house dust mite allergens, food, and bacteria, leading to overwhelming inflammatory responses [1, 2]. NLR, is part of an important inflammasome, and is composed of apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain (ASC) and of procaspase-1 [7, 8]. Inflammasome assembly is triggered by NLRP3 activation and leads to caspase-1 activation, which in turn promotes the maturation and release of cytokines such as IL-1β and IL-18 and the initiation/amplification/regulation of multiple immune responses [9]. We investigated the potential of CP as a treatment for AD-like symptoms, using a house dust miteinduced AD mouse model. Special attention was paid to the potential effects exerted on NLRP3 inflammasome activation
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