Cicadidae Periostracum Attenuates Atopic Dermatitis Symptoms and Pathology via the Regulation of NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a multifactorial inflammatory skin disease of complex etiology. Despite its increasing prevalence, treatment for AD is still limited. Crude drugs, including herbal extracts or natural resources, are being used to treat AD symptoms, with minimum side effects. Cicadidae Periostracum (CP), derived from the slough of insects belonging to the family Cicadidae, is a commonly used crude drug in traditional Asian medicine to treat/control epilepsy, shock, and edema. However, the effect of CP on AD-like skin lesions is unknown. In this study, we examined the effect of a CP water extract on AD disease development in vivo, using a house dust mite-induced AD mouse model, and in vitro, using HaCaT keratinocytes and a 3D human skin equivalent system. Importantly, CP administration alleviated house dust mite-induced AD-like symptoms, suggested by the quantified dermatitis scores, animal scratching behaviors, skin moisture retention capacity, and skin lesion and ear thickness. Furthermore, histopathological analysis demonstrated that CP decreased intralesional mast cell infiltration. In addition, CP treatments decreased the systemic levels of immunoglobulin E, histamine, and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and the local mRNA expression of TSLP and several Th1/Th2 cytokines. Our data suggest that these effects were mediated by the inhibition of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation. In vivo and in vitro CP treatments resulted in the downregulation of inflammasome components, such as ASC and cleaved caspase-1, as well as related mediators such as IL-1β and reactive oxygen species. Collectively, our results suggest that CP is a potential therapeutic agent for AD, controlling inflammatory responses through the suppression of NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

Cera Flava Alleviates Atopic Dermatitis by Activating Skin Barrier Function via Immune Regulation

“…Scratching behavior was evaluated in the context of HDM sensitization tests, performed as previously reported [ 31 ], and AD-indicative behavioral changes, such as scratching for periods of longer than 20 min, were measured and recorded.…”

“…Collagen density was measured using the Masson’s Trichrome (MT) Stain Kit (Vitro Vivo Biotech, Rockville, MD, USA), according to the manufacturer’s protocol. All measurements and quantitative analyses were performed according to a previously published method [ 31 ].…”

“…Anti-aquaporin 3, anti-TSLP (all from Abcam), anti-filaggrin, anti-cytokeratin 14, anti-p-extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK), anti-ERK, anti-p-AKT, anti-AKT (all from Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA, USA), anti-TLR2, anti-MyD88, anti-TRAF6 (all from Invitrogen), and anti-β-actin (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Dallas, TX, USA) antibodies were used. Western blot analysis was performed according to a previously published method [ 31 ].…”

“…Dorsal skin tissue was homogenized using TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen). RNA extraction and real-time PCR were performed according to a previously published method [ 31 ]. Primer sequences were as follows: TARC/CCL17 (forward 5′-attcaaaaccagggtgtctcc-3′, reverse 5′-ctcttgttgttggggtccga-3′), MDC/CCL22 (forward 5′-gcgtggtgttgctaaccttc-3′, reverse 5′-ggccacggtcatcagagtag-3′), and RANTES/CCL5 (forward 5′-ccccatattcctcggacacc-3′, reverse 5′-gacaaagacgactgctgggt-3′).…”

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Cicadidae Periostracum Extract and Oleic Acid through Inhibiting Inflammatory Chemokines Using PCR Arrays in LPS-Induced Lung inflammation In Vitro

“…Cicadidae Periostracum (CP) is a crude drug derived from the cast-off skin of the insect Cryptotympana pustulata Fabricius from the family of Cicadas [ 1 , 2 ]. CP has been used to treat smallpox, sedation, shock, edema, epilepsy, and night terror symptoms in traditional Korean medicine.…”