Nature Medicine

A study in the January issue of Nature Medicine identifies a key molecule in the development of the skin disease psoriasis.

Psoriasis is perhaps the most common inflammatory skin disorder, affecting about 2% of the population. John DiGiovanni and his colleagues report that skin cells in psoriatic lesions express Stat3, a molecule involved in transmitting extracellular signals to the nucleus. Mice that express large amounts of Stat3 develop a skin phenotype that closely resembles psoriasis. Moreover, blocking the molecule's function inhibits the onset of and reverses established psoriatic lesions.

The results of this study indicate that targeting Stat3 may be beneficial in the treatment of psoriasis.