Figure 7: Therapeutic effect of HO-1 activators on the IMQ-induced psoriasis mouse model.

Topical treatment of IMQ cream (5%) for 7 d on the shaved back skins of BALB/C mice. Skin samples were collected before euthanasia. (a) Pictures of the back skin of the mice before euthanasia. (b) Pathological analysis with H&E staining of the back skin samples of mice from different treatment groups. (c) PASI score indicated disease severity (n = 5). (d) Back skin samples were lysed, and the whole protein was collected. Western blot was performed to determine the levels of PY-Stat3, HO-1, and SHP-1. Blots shown are derived from multiple gels. The gels were run under the same experimental conditions. The membrane was cut based on molecular weight. All full-length blots are presented in Supplementary Fig. 5. (e) Immunochemistry staining of the harvested skin lesion samples with Abs of PY-Stat3, Stat3 downstream protein Mcl-1, proliferation marker Ki67, and abnormal keratin (keratin 16 and keratin 17). *represents P < 0.05, which indicates a statistically significant difference.