Long-term management of psoriasis recurrence via modulation of cutaneous microbiome: synergistic topical therapy with blue light and aptamer-functionalized curcumin formulation

TL;DR

A new treatment combining blue light and a curcumin-based formulation helps manage psoriasis recurrence by restoring skin microbiome balance and reducing inflammation in mice.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel synergistic therapy using blue light and aptamer-functionalized curcumin to modulate the microbiome and prevent psoriasis relapse.

Findings

The combination therapy reduced psoriasis severity and inflammation in a murine model.

The treatment restored microbiome diversity to levels similar to healthy mice.

The therapy inhibited IL-17A and increased splenic nitric oxide, suggesting a mechanism for its efficacy.

Abstract

The recurrence following the discontinuation of medication is a formidable challenge in managing psoriasis. Changes in the microbiome accompany the onset of psoriasis relapse, highlighting a potential therapeutic modality. To evaluate the superiority of the topical administration of aptamer-functionalized curcumin mesoporous silica (Apt-GA+Cur@μmS) plus blue light (BL) in restoring dysbiosis and intervening in recurrence in a murine model, a psoriasis relapse murine model with double imiquimod induction was established. With a BL-responsive shell, Apt-GA+Cur@μmS released curcumin (Cur) to assist BL to improve the preventative and therapeutic effects in the psoriasis relapse murine model, as evidenced by the psoriasis area and severity index, histology, splenic index, and dorsal IL-17A level. We also observed a negative correlation between splenic nitric oxide (NO) levels and the splenic index, indicating a possible mechanism by which Apt-GA+Cur@μmS&BL may function in the treatment of splenomegaly. Treatment with Apt-GA+Cur@μmS&BL exhibited a higher alpha diversity than the model group, with levels similar to those of healthy mice, indicating that this combination could adjust the composition of the dorsal microbiome to a healthier state. A reduction in the combined relative abundance of Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Corynebacterium as well as restoration of dysbiosis was also verified through 16S rDNA gene sequencing in vivo. Collectively, BL and Apt-GA+Cur@μmS cotherapy alleviates psoriasiform lesions in a double imiquimod-induced murine model by inhibiting IL-17A and increasing splenic NO. Additionally, this cotherapy restores the eubiosis of the dorsal lesions. Thus, it is a promising and innovative therapeutic modality for psoriasis inflammation alleviation and recurrence intervention.

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