IL-1 is a proinflammatory
cytokine consisting of two molecular species, IL-1alpha and IL-1beta, and IL-1R antagonist (gene: Il1rn) is the endogenous suppressor. Il1rn(-/-) mice spontaneously develop
autoimmune diseases, such as
arthritis and
aortitis, and a
dermatitis that histologically resembles human
psoriasis. The pathogenic mechanisms underlying this
dermatitis, however, remain to be elucidated. In this study, we demonstrated that the production of inflammatory
cytokines and
chemokines was enhanced at the site of
inflammation. The development of
dermatitis was completely suppressed in Tnfsf1a(-/-) but not in
Il6(-/-) mice, similar to that observed in
arthritis and
aortitis. However,
IL-17 deficiency did not affect the development of
dermatitis at all, in clear contrast to that of
arthritis and
aortitis. Different from
arthritis and
aortitis, adoptive transfer of Il1rn(-/-) T cells did not induce
dermatitis in the recipient SCID mice and skin lesions developed in Il1rn(-/-) SCID mice, indicating that T cells are not involved in the development of skin lesions. In support for this,
bone marrow cell transplantation experiments showed that TNF produced by skin residential cells, but not bone marrow cell-derived cells, was important for the development of
dermatitis. Furthermore, we showed that
IL-1 directly enhanced TNF and
chemokine expression in keratinocytes. These observations suggest that excess
IL-1 signaling directly activates keratinocytes to produce TNF and
chemokines, resulting in the development of
psoriasis-like skin lesions without the involvement of autoimmunity in Il1rn(-/-) mice.