Figure 5: IMQ and vehicle alone induce cytokine production in WT129 skin.

mRNA levels of Il-1α (a), G-csf (b), S100A8 (c), S100A9 (d) and Il-17A (e) and Il-23 (f) in the skin of WT129 mice assessed by qPCR 24 h after one topical treatment. Statistical significance displayed for ΔCT values of treated compared with untreated samples. (g) pDC mobilization in the blood of WT129 mice 24 h after one topical treatment, lyophilized IMQ solubilized in softcream (IMQ/softcream), IMQ solubilized in vehicle (IMQ/vehicle), vehicle cream, softcream or isostearic acid in softcream (25% w/w). (h) Human primary keratinocytes were treated at the indicated concentrations with DMSO-solubilized softcream, Aldara, vehicle or isostearic acid for 6 h. The relative efficiency of cell lysis was assessed by LDH assays (top), and the amount of released IL-1β was measured by ELISA (bottom). Statistical significance displayed for all samples treated with Aldara, vehicle or isostearic acid in softcream compared with the corresponding concentration of softcream alone; error bars indicate s.d.; *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001, ****P<0.0001, n.s. (P>0.5 not significant) unpaired Student’s t-test.