A new study has shown that the female hormone estradiol suppresses psoriasis. Perhaps the discovery will allow us to develop a therapy for this disease.
A group of Japanese scientists from Kyoto University has discovered that the hormone estradiol (present for the most part in the body of women) can suppress psoriasis. “Our results not only revealed the molecular mechanisms of sex differences in psoriasis, but also shed new light on our understanding of the physiological role of estradiol,” says Tetsuya Honda from Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, who previously worked at Kyoto University.
The team tested two groups of mice with removed ovaries — one was injected with estradiol regularly, and the second received a placebo. Unlike wild mice, animals without estradiol showed symptoms of severe skin inflammation.
The cure for scabies
After mice without ovaries were given estradiol, the production of cytokines IL-17A and IL-1? in immune cells, neutrophils and macrophages were reversed, which reduced inflammation. This effect was also observed in human neutrophils in vitro. Scientists were intrigued that the absence of estrogen receptors in immune cells makes estradiol ineffective against cytokines. “The results show that estradiol suppresses psoriatic inflammation by regulating neutrophil and macrophage cells,” the author concludes.