Imiquimod induces skin inflammation in humanized BRGSF mice with limited human immune cell activity.

Human immune system (HIS) mouse models can be valuable when cross-reactivity of drug candidates to mouse systems is missing. However, no HIS mouse models of psoriasis have been established. In this study, it was investigated if imiquimod (IMQ) induced psoriasis-like skin inflammation was driven by human immune cells in human FMS-related tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (hFlt3L) boosted (BRGSF-HIS mice).

Sustaining the T-cell activity in xenografted psoriasis skin.

Xenografting of psoriasis skin onto immune deficient mice has been widely used to obtain proof-of-principle of new drug candidates. However, the lack of human T-cell activity in the grafts limits the use of the model. Here, we show that xenografting of lesional skin from psoriasis patients onto human IL-2 NOG mice results in increased numbers of human CD3+ cells in the grafts, axillary lymph nodes and blood from human IL-2 NOG mice compared to C.