Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder that affects approximately 2% of the world's population. A group of inflammatory molecules known as interleukins activate an immune response that causes itchy skin, but it is unclear how the skin cells and immune cells communicate.
In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers led by Manfred Kopf at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Z-rich, Switzerland found that mice lacking interleukin-36 (IL-36) were protected from immune-mediated skin inflammation. These results indicate that IL-36 might be a useful therapeutic target in the treatment of psoriasis.