American Association of Immunologists, The Journal of Immunology, 2(198), p. 767-775, 2017
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Abstract The IL-17 family cytokines IL-17A and IL-17C drive the pathogenesis of psoriatic skin inflammation, and anti–IL-17A Abs were recently approved to treat human psoriasis. Little is known about mechanisms that restrain IL-17 cytokine-mediated signaling, particularly IL-17C. In this article, we show that the endoribonuclease MCP-1–induced protein 1 (MCPIP1; also known as regnase-1) is markedly upregulated in human psoriatic skin lesions. Similarly, MCPIP1 was overexpressed in the imiquimod (IMQ)-driven mouse model of cutaneous inflammation. Mice with an MCPIP1 deficiency (Zc3h12a+/−) displayed no baseline skin inflammation, but they showed exacerbated pathology following IMQ treatment. Pathology in Zc3h12a+/− mice was associated with elevated expression of IL-17A– and IL-17C–dependent genes, as well as with increased accumulation of neutrophils in skin. However, IL-17A and IL-17C expression was unaltered, suggesting that the increased inflammation in Zc3h12a+/− mice was due to enhanced downstream IL-17R signaling. Radiation chimeras demonstrated that MCPIP1 in nonhematopoietic cells is responsible for controlling skin pathology. Moreover, Zc3h12a+/−Il17ra−/− mice given IMQ showed almost no disease. To identify which IL-17RA ligand was essential, Zc3h12a+/−Il17a−/− and Zc3h12a+/−Il17c−/− mice were given IMQ; these mice had reduced but not fully abrogated pathology, indicating that MCPIP1 inhibits IL-17A and IL-17C signaling. Confirming this hypothesis, Zc3h12a−/− keratinocytes showed increased responsiveness to IL-17A and IL-17C stimulation. Thus, MCPIP1 is a potent negative regulator of psoriatic skin inflammation through IL-17A and IL-17C. Moreover, to our knowledge, MCPIP1 is the first described negative regulator of IL-17C signaling.