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Topical imiquimod yields systemic effects due to unintended oral uptake.
Grine, Lynda Steeland, Sophie Van Ryckeghem, Sara Ballegeer, Marlies Lienenklaus, Stefan Weiss, Siegfried Sanders, Niek N Vandenbroucke, Roosmarijn E Libert, Claude
Grine, Lynda
Steeland, Sophie
Van Ryckeghem, Sara
Ballegeer, Marlies
Lienenklaus, Stefan
Weiss, Siegfried
Sanders, Niek N
Vandenbroucke, Roosmarijn E
Libert, Claude
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Abstract
Repetitive application of topical imiquimod is used as an experimental model for the induction of psoriasiform skin lesions in mice. The model is characterized by several inflammatory processes, including cytokine production both locally and systemically, cellular infiltration, and splenomegaly. To investigate the production of type I interferons in response to imiquimod-containing Aldara cream, IFNβ-luciferase reporter mice were imaged in vivo and ex vivo. Type I interferons were found to be produced in the skin, but also in the intestinal system caused by unintended ingestion of imiquimod by the mice. Through the use of Elizabethan collars to prevent ingestion, these effects, including psoriasiform lesions were nearly completely prevented. Our findings reveal that topical treatment with Aldara induces a psoriasiform skin inflammation, but that its mode of action depends on ingestion of the chemical, which leads to systemic responses and affects local inflammation. Therefore, potential ingestion of topical treatments during experimental procedures should be taken into account during assessment of cutaneous inflammatory parameters in skin disease models.
Citation
Topical imiquimod yields systemic effects due to unintended oral uptake. 2016, 6:20134 Sci Rep
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Journal
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
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Article
Language
en
Description
Series/Report no.
ISSN
2045-2322