1. ^*Department of Bioscience at Novum, Karolinska Institutet, NOVUM, Huddinge, Sweden
2. ^†Department of Clinical Pathology and Cytology, Huddinge University Hospital, Huddinge, Sweden
3. ^‡The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA

Correspondence: Max van Hogerlinden, Department of Bioscience at Novum, Karolinska Institutet, NOVUM, S-141 57 Huddinge, Sweden. Email: max.hogerlinden@cnt.ki.se

Received 28 March 2003; Revised 29 February 2004; Accepted 2 March 2004.

Abstract

A growth inhibitory role in skin development for the NF-B proteins has been established in recent years. We have previously shown that inhibition of NF-B by overexpression of degradation-resistant IB- in the skin results in the development of squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). In this paper, we characterize the progressive skin disease leading to cancer development in mice with inhibited NF-B signaling in the skin. Increased proliferation and a strong inflammatory response were evident in transgenic skin. A mixed inflammatory cell infiltrate dominated by polymorphonuclear leukocytes was observed in concurrence with an upregulation of the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-. This genetically engineered mouse mutation may be a useful tool to test the efficacy of cytokine therapies for SCC in the future.