A protein in the skin that senses environmental signals could be enlisted to fight inflammation caused by the autoimmune skin disease psoriasis.

Brigitta Stockinger at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research, London, and her team found that altering the activity of the protein AhR in human skin affected the expression of 41 genes that are relevant to psoriasis.

Mice lacking AhR had a stronger response to imiquimod, a compound that causes psoriasis-like skin inflammation. However, stimulating AhR in normal mice reduced imiquimod's effects, suggesting that AhR activation may ease psoriasis.

Immunity http://doi.org/s4m (2014)