title: The PKC inhibitor AEB071 may be a therapeutic option for psoriasis.
abstract: PKC isoforms tau, alpha, and beta play fundamental roles in the activation of T cells and other immune cell functions. Here we show that the PKC inhibitor AEB071 both abolishes the production of several cytokines by activated human T cells, keratinocytes, and macrophages in vitro and inhibits an acute allergic contact dermatitis response in rats. To translate these findings into humans, single and multiple ascending oral doses of AEB071 were administered to healthy volunteers and patients with psoriasis, respectively. AEB071 was well tolerated with no clinically relevant laboratory abnormalities. Ex vivo stimulation of lymphocytes from subjects exposed to single doses of AEB071 resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of both lymphocyte proliferation and IL2 mRNA expression. Clinical severity of psoriasis was reduced up to 69% compared with baseline after 2 weeks of treatment, as measured by the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) score. The improvement in psoriasis patients was accompanied by histological improvement of skin lesions and may be partially explained by a substantial reduction of p40+ dermal cells, which are known to mediate psoriasis. These data suggest that AEB071 could be an effective novel treatment regimen for psoriasis and other autoimmune diseases, and that AEB071 warrants long-term studies to establish safety and efficacy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Division of Immunology, Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Skvara
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dawid
authors.forename: Elise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kleyn
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.forename: Josef G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Meingassner
authors.forename: Hilary
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Knight
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dumortier
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kopp
authors.forename: Nasanin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fallahi
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stary
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Burkhart
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Grenet
authors.forename: Juergen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Youssef
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hijazi
authors.forename: Randall E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McGeown
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rordorf
authors.forename: Christopher E M
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stingl
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003872:Dermatitis / Q000188:drug therapy; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000188:drug therapy; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects*; D010919:Placebos; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D051381:Rats; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D007376:Interleukin-2; D010919:Placebos; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors