Liposomes-in-Gel as the Docetaxel Delivery for the Effective Treatment of Psoriasis by Inhibiting the Proliferation of Blood Vessels

TL;DR

A new docetaxel delivery system using liposomes-in-gel improves psoriasis treatment by inhibiting blood vessel growth and reducing inflammation.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel transdermal delivery system (liposomes-in-gel) for docetaxel with enhanced drug release and therapeutic effects in psoriasis.

Findings

DTX-LP-G released more drug into the skin compared to DTX-loaded liposomes and gels.

DTX-LP-G efficiently scavenged hydrogen peroxide free radicals in vitro.

DTX-LP-G reduced psoriasis symptoms in mice by down-regulating IL6, HIF-1α, and VEGF.

Abstract

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease caused by the interaction of multiple factors that leads to the abnormal growth of stratum corneum cells and has been called an immortal cancer. Docetaxel has been trialed for the treatment of psoriasis due to its superior ability to induce apoptosis, but its insolubility and low bioavailability have hampered its development. Here, docetaxel (DTX)-loaded liposomes-in-gel (DTX-LP-G) as the transdermal delivery was investigated to the treatment of psoriasis via modulating the IL6-HIF-1α-VEGF axis. The results demonstrated that DTX-LP-G cumulatively released a much higher amount of drug into the skin than that from DTX-loaded liposomes (DTX-LPs) and DTX-loaded gel (DTX-G). DTX-LP-G was also the most efficient in scavenging hydrogen peroxide free radicals in vitro. In a mouse model of psoriasis, DTX-LP-G acted as a preliminary therapeutic agent for psoriasis in terms of apparent evaluation, splenomegaly, suppression of MDA content in skin tissue, and down-regulated the expression of IL6, HIF-1α, and VEGF to control the proliferation of vessels, except for a less pronounced effect on the stratum corneum. In addition, enrichment analysis can speculate that DTX also treated psoriasis by resisting the production of keratin-forming cells.

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