Exosome mediated delivery of Epigallocatechin 3 gallate as a novel approach to alleviate psoriasis symptoms through cytokine and apoptotic pathway modulation

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IntroductionA chronic inflammatory skin condition mediated by the immune system, psoriasis is linked to several morbidities, such as psoriatic arthropathy, cardiovascular, psychiatric, and hepatic disorders. Skin functions as a neuroimmuno-endocrine organ, capable of sensing environmental stressors and producing hormones and neurotransmitters that influence local and systemic responses. These skin-derived signals may indirectly affect melanocyte stem cell behaviour and hair pigmentation through stress-related pathways1. In 2014 WHO classified psoriasis as an epidemic non-communicable disease and noted the distress triggered by inaccurate diagnosis, inadequate treatment, and discrimination against the disease. Psoriasis affects both females as well as males, however, it generally appears earlier in females, along with those with a family background of the disease. The bimodal distribution of its beginning age shows that it increases 10 years earlier in females and at 30–39 and 60–69 years in males2. Statistics documented that there are over 1 million Egyptian patients had psoriasis, of which 145,000 are characterized by moderate as well as severe cases3.Psoriasis is characterized by the extent of skin involvement and intensity of erythema, induration, and scaling as shown in Fig. 1. Psoriatic arthritis, plaque-type psoriasis, pustular psoriasis, inverse psoriasis, guttate psoriasis, nail psoriasis, and erythrodermic psoriasis are the seven main forms of psoriasis2. Psoriasis can be successfully managed utilizing several kinds of drugs that focus on certain aspects based on the severity of the condition and specific circumstances of every patient. Many of these treatments have serious side effects, even though they can effectively control symptoms. These include calcineurin inhibitors (which cause itching and stinging), glucocorticoid steroids (which cause skin atrophy after prolonged use), retinoid (which causes redness, peeling, dryness, itching, and burning), and psoralens plus UVA exposure (which increases the risk of skin cancer)4. Meanwhile, after new techniques and methods appeared, the most promising effective treatments were stem cells, specifically mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)5. Much research has been done to detect the main effect mesenchymal stem cells on skin diseases, specifically psoriasis which elevates the expression of SOD3 and inhibits the progression as well as severity of psoriasis by regulating immune cell functions and infiltration particularly dendritic cells, Th17 cells, neutrophils and through controlling TLR-7-dependent, MAP kinases, epidermal functions6. MSC exosomes can lower the terminal complement complex, C5b-9, and the important psoriatic cytokines, IL-17 and IL-23. Even a minor psoriatic phenotype brought on by three days of IMQ therapy of mouse skin exhibits this7. In addition to stem cell-based therapies, major studies have documented the significant effect of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) as a treatment for psoriasis. In addition to lowering inflammation and proliferation responses in cultured keratinocytes, EGCG is crucial for differentiation. Among IMQ-induced mouse skin lesions, it produced a notable (p