Fig. 7: 3-HKA treatment reduces psoriasis-associated skin inflammation.

a–d Psoriasis was induced in C57BL/6 mice by shaving a “1 × 1” area on the mouse back and applying the TLR7 agonist imiquimod for 7 days (imiquimod). Some of the mice were also treated with 3-HKA alone (3-HKA) or in combination with imiquimod (imiquimod + 3-HKA) (3-HKA; 50 mg/kg i.p.; for 7 days). Controls are mice that were shaved but left untreated (Ctr). After 7 days, mice were sacrificed and skin harvested for histological analysis. Each skin sample was evaluated blindly by a board-certified veterinary pathologist for psoriasis-form features. Each sample was evaluated at three randomly chosen regions. n = 12 biologically independent replicates. b–d Features that were assessed were adapted from Baker et al.²⁷ and included those of the keratin layer (orthokeratosis, parakeratosis), epidermis (hyperplasia, formation of rete ridges, ulceration), and the dermis (lymphocytic infiltration, superficial congestion, hemorrhage, necrosis). The severity of each finding was scored semi-quantitatively as follows: 0 = no lesion; 1 = minimal; 2 = mild; 3 = moderate; 4 = severe. c, d Statistical analysis refers to pooled data from n = 12 biologically independent replicates. Data are reported as average ± SD for each histological parameter. Significance levels are reported as p < 0.05 (*), p < 0.01 (**), and p < 0.001 (***) (two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple comparison test). e Quantitative analysis of pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines present in skin lysates from the same mice reported in (a) using the mouse Th1/Th2/Th17 Array Q1 (Raybiotech). Data from n = 4 biologically independent replicates are reported as average ± SD. Significance levels are reported as p < 0.05 (*), p < 0.01 (**), and p < 0.001 (***) (two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple comparison test). Source data for (a–e) are provided as Source data file.