IRAK2 Has a Critical Role in Promoting Feed-Forward Amplification of Epidermal Inflammatory Responses

Shuai Shao, Lam C. Tsoi, William R. Swindell, Jiaoling Chen, Ranjitha Uppala, Allison C. Billi, Xianying Xing, Chang Zeng, Mrinal K. Sarkar, Rachael Wasikowski, Yanyun Jiang, Joseph Kirma, Jingru Sun, Olesya Plazyo, Gang Wang, Paul W. Harms, John J. Voorhees, Nicole L. Ward, Feiyang Ma, Matteo PellegriniAlexander Merleev, Bethany E. Perez White, Robert L. Modlin, Bogi Andersen, Emanual Maverakis, Stephan Weidinger, J. Michelle Kahlenberg, Johann E. Gudjonsson*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Many inflammatory skin diseases are characterized by altered epidermal differentiation. Whether this altered differentiation promotes inflammatory responses has been unknown. Here, we show that IRAK2, a member of the signaling complex downstream of IL-1 and IL-36, correlates positively with disease severity in both atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. Inhibition of epidermal IRAK2 normalizes differentiation and inflammation in two mouse models of psoriasis- and atopic dermatitis-like inflammation. Specifically, we demonstrate that IRAK2 ties together proinflammatory and differentiation-dependent responses and show that this function of IRAK2 is specific to keratinocytes and acts through the differentiation-associated transcription factor ZNF750. Taken together, our findings suggest that IRAK2 has a critical role in promoting feed-forward amplification of inflammatory responses in skin through modulation of differentiation pathways and inflammatory responses.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2436-2448
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Investigative Dermatology
Volume141
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2021

Funding

This work was supported by NIH P30 AR075043 (JEG), NIH RO1 AR069071 (JEG), an National Psoriasis Foundation Psoriasis Prevention Initiative award (JEG, JMK, NLW, EM, LCT), the Taubman Institute Innovation Project program (JEG and JMK), the Babcock Endowment Fund (LCT, MKS, JEG), the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases AR060802 (JEG) and AR072129 (LCT), National Psoriasis Foundation Translational Grant (MKS), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under Award Number R01-AR06 (JEG), and the Parfet Emerging Scholar Award (JMK). LCT is supported by the Dermatology Foundation, Arthritis National Research Foundation , and National Psoriasis Foundation.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Dermatology
  • Cell Biology

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