Itching to reduce inflammation

Abstract

Inflammation The kinase p38 is activated in various inflammatory skin disorders, but drugs that block p38 activity can cause toxicity. Mice deficient in the E3 ubiquitin ligase Itch have itchy skin. Theivanthiran et al. studied the α isoform of p38 in these mice. Skin cells from Itch-deficient mice had more active p38α and higher levels of the p38α-binding protein Tab1. In skin cells from normal mice, Tab1 was targeted for degradation by Itch. Skin inflammation in Itch-deficient mice was decreased after injection with a peptide that blocked the Tab1-p38α interaction, suggesting an alternative way to target p38α in inflammatory disorders. Sci. Signal. 8 , ra22 (2015).