Fig. 7: CXCR4^hi neutrophils contribute to psoriasis-like inflammation in vivo.

a Relative mRNA expressions of CXCR4 and CXL12 in mice tissues was evaluated by qRT-PCR. n = 6 mice. b Proportion of Ly6G⁺CXCR4^hi neutrophils in mice skin was determined by flow cytometry. n = 6 mice. c Serum level of CXCL12 in control and IMQ-treated mice was detected by ELISA. n = 6 mice. d Schematic diagram of mouse experimental protocol. IMQ mice were injected intraperitoneally with an anti-Ly6G antibody every other day and then injected subcutaneously with fresh isolated homologous Ly6G⁺CXCR4^lo or Ly6G⁺CXCR4^hi neutrophils daily. e Phenotype and representative H&E staining of IMQ-treated mice in indicated groups on day 5. Images are representative of six individual mouse per group. Control group was topically applied with Vaseline cream. Bar = 200 µm. n = 6 mice. f Epidermal thickness was assessed by H&E. n = 20 vision fields from 6 mice. g Representative immunofluorescence staining of CD31 (red) in inflamed skin. Scale bar = 50 µm. n = 6 mice. h Quantification of the dermal vascular area in the H&E-stained sections. n = 10 vision fields from 6 mice. i Relative mRNA expressions of inflammatory cytokines in mice tissues. n = 6 mice. The immunofluorescence staining was repeated three times independently with similar results. Mean ± SD. Analyses: unpaired Student’s t-test in (a), (b), and (c); One-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test in (f), (h), and (i). The unpaired Student’s t-test was conducted as two-sided tests. One-way ANOVA test was performed as two-sided analyses and adjusted for multiple comparisons in the statistical analyses. ns, not significant; IMQ, imiquimod. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.