Psoriasis is a highly inflammatory autoimmune-mediated
skin disease. The strongest evidence has pointed to the influential role of
interleukin (IL) -17A in the aberrant pathology of
psoriasis. Henceforth, targeting the
IL-17A cytokine is of prime importance in controlling the disease severity of
psoriasis. Reportedly, 3, 3'-
diindolylmethane (DIM) is a
phytochemical that alleviated acute
atopic dermatitis. Howbeit, the therapeutic intervention of DIM against IL-17A/IL-17RA interaction and its signaling mediated pathogenesis in
psoriasis remains unexplored. In the current report, we decoded the molecular basis of DIM in
psoriasis. Docking analysis has reported that DIM identified an
IL-17A binding region in the functional
fibronectin-III-like domain of IL-17RA and abrogated IL-17A/IL-17RA interaction. In-vitro experiments demonstrated that DIM impeded
IL-17A mediated hyper-proliferative phenotype of psoriatic-like keratinocytes. Furthermore, DIM abated the catabolic effects of
IL-17A stimulated expression of pathogenic mediators like HMGB-1, Cyr-61, CCL-20, and
VEGF via blunted activation of JAK/STAT pathway in psoriatic like keratinocytes. Profoundly, DIM restricted the reprogramming of psoriatic-like keratinocytes to overexpress IL-17RA in concert with
IL-17A stimulation. In line with in-vitro studies, DIM also ameliorated skin lesions and epidermal
hyperplasia in an
imiquimod-induced mice model of
psoriasis. Additionally, DIM also reduced STAT-3 phosphorylation and associated expression of Cyr-61, CCL-20, and
VEGF in psoriatic mice. However, if DIM has a direct effect on STAT-3 inhibition or it negatively regulates STAT-3 function via blockade of IL-17A/IL-17RA interaction needs to be investigated in the future. Conclusively, our studies demonstrated that the blockade of IL-17A/IL-17RA interaction is a novel therapeutic perspective of DIM against the progression of
psoriasis disease.