{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]],"date-time":"2026-03-17T03:53:19Z","timestamp":1773719599969,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,16]],"date-time":"2020-04-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1586995200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004663","name":"Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["MOST 107-2628-H-038-001-MY3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MOST 107-2628-H-038-001-MY3"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004663","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004700","name":"Taipei Medical University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["106-6820-001-112"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["106-6820-001-112"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004700","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Moderate to severe psoriasis, an immune-mediated inflammatory disease, adversely affects patients\u2019 lives. Cyclosporin A (CsA), an effective immunomodulator, is used to treat psoriasis. CsA is ineffective at low doses and toxic at high doses. Acarbose (Acar), a common antidiabetic drug with anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, reduces imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis severity. Combinations of systemic drugs are generally more efficacious and safer than higher doses of single drugs. We observed that mice treated with a combination of Acar (250 mg\/kg) and low-dose CsA (10 or 20 mg\/kg) exhibited significantly milder IMQ-induced psoriasis-like dermatitis and smoother back skin than those treated with Acar (250 mg\/kg), low-dose CsA (10 or 20 mg\/kg), or IMQ alone. The combination therapy significantly reduced serum and skin levels of Th17-related cytokines (interleukin (IL)-17A, IL-22, and IL-23) and the Th1-related cytokine tumor necrosis factor-\u03b1 (TNF-\u03b1) compared with Acar, low-dose CsA, and IMQ alone. Additionally, the combination therapy significantly reduced the percentages of IL-17- and IL-22-producing CD4+ T-cells (Th17 and Th22 cells, respectively) and increased that of Treg cells. Our data suggested that Acar and low-dose CsA in combination alleviates psoriatic skin lesions by inhibiting inflammation. The findings provide new insights into the effects of immunomodulatory drugs in psoriasis treatment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules25081822","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,16]],"date-time":"2020-04-16T13:01:39Z","timestamp":1587042099000},"page":"1822","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Combination Therapy of Acarbose and Cyclosporine a Ameliorates Imiquimod-Induced Psoriasis-Like Dermatitis in Mice"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"25","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7304-4587","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hsin-Hua","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Research, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 407, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1464-0231","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chi-Chien","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Biomedical Science and Rong Hsing Research Center for Translational Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4780-6496","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yu-Tang","family":"Tung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate Institute of Metabolism and Obesity Sciences, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan"},{"name":"Nutrition Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 110, Taiwan"},{"name":"Cell Physiology and Molecular Image Research Center, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8283-6589","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ya-Hsuan","family":"Chao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Biomedical Science and Rong Hsing Research Center for Translational Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wen-Ching","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Exercise and Health Science, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei 112, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Po-Ying","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei 280, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhang, S., Liu, X., Mei, L., Wang, H., and Fang, F. 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