Comprehensive analysis of pyroptosis-related genes in psoriasis and targeted gene editing of CASP1 and CASP5 using lipid nanoparticles to alleviate skin inflammation

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder driven by immune dysregulation and excessive cell death. Pyroptosis, a form of inflammatory programmed cell death, has not been extensively studied in the context of psoriasis despite its importance in inflammation. In this study, we systematically a...

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Main Authors: Gexiao Xu, Guanyi Ma, Jiachen Sun, Xiaoyan Yu, Jie Sun, Bing Gao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1639869/full
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author Gexiao Xu
Guanyi Ma
Jiachen Sun
Xiaoyan Yu
Jie Sun
Bing Gao
author_facet Gexiao Xu
Guanyi Ma
Jiachen Sun
Xiaoyan Yu
Jie Sun
Bing Gao
author_sort Gexiao Xu
collection DOAJ
description Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder driven by immune dysregulation and excessive cell death. Pyroptosis, a form of inflammatory programmed cell death, has not been extensively studied in the context of psoriasis despite its importance in inflammation. In this study, we systematically analyzed the expression of pyroptosis-related genes (PRGs) in psoriasis to identify critical players involved in disease progression. Using bioinformatics tools and publicly available datasets, we constructed a risk score model based on machine learning algorithms, which identified several key hub genes including CASP1, CASP5, AIM2, GZMB, GZMA, IL1B, and NOD2. The generated risk score model demonstrated robust performance in external validation datasets, showing strong predictive power for psoriasis severity and immune infiltration. High-risk patients exhibited increased inflammatory cell infiltration and worsening clinical symptoms, which was consistent with the model’s ability to predict immune response dynamics in psoriatic lesions. To further validate our findings, we analyzed single-cell RNA sequencing data and demonstrated that the risk score was highly correlated with immune cell composition, particularly DCs, T cells, and mast cells, indicating that patients with higher risk scores have more severe disease and stronger immune infiltration. Additionally, we targeted CASP1 and CASP5 using CRISPR-Cas9 delivery via lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to selectively knock out these genes in keratinocytes, resulting in significant therapeutic effects in the IMQ-induced psoriasis mouse model. Our findings provide comprehensive insights into the role of pyroptosis in psoriasis and propose a novel gene editing strategy for alleviating the disease.
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spelling doaj-art-c47f5d7e77404c6abfa3912e71f379752025-08-20T03:25:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology2296-41852025-07-011310.3389/fbioe.2025.16398691639869Comprehensive analysis of pyroptosis-related genes in psoriasis and targeted gene editing of CASP1 and CASP5 using lipid nanoparticles to alleviate skin inflammationGexiao Xu0Guanyi Ma1Jiachen Sun2Xiaoyan Yu3Jie Sun4Bing Gao5Department of Dermatology, Dermatology Hospital of Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, ChinaThe 988th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force of Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Zhengzhou, ChinaDepartment of Dermatology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, ChinaDepartment of Dermatology, Dermatology Hospital of Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, ChinaDepartment of Dermatology, Dermatology Hospital of Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, ChinaDepartment of Burns, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, ChinaPsoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder driven by immune dysregulation and excessive cell death. Pyroptosis, a form of inflammatory programmed cell death, has not been extensively studied in the context of psoriasis despite its importance in inflammation. In this study, we systematically analyzed the expression of pyroptosis-related genes (PRGs) in psoriasis to identify critical players involved in disease progression. Using bioinformatics tools and publicly available datasets, we constructed a risk score model based on machine learning algorithms, which identified several key hub genes including CASP1, CASP5, AIM2, GZMB, GZMA, IL1B, and NOD2. The generated risk score model demonstrated robust performance in external validation datasets, showing strong predictive power for psoriasis severity and immune infiltration. High-risk patients exhibited increased inflammatory cell infiltration and worsening clinical symptoms, which was consistent with the model’s ability to predict immune response dynamics in psoriatic lesions. To further validate our findings, we analyzed single-cell RNA sequencing data and demonstrated that the risk score was highly correlated with immune cell composition, particularly DCs, T cells, and mast cells, indicating that patients with higher risk scores have more severe disease and stronger immune infiltration. Additionally, we targeted CASP1 and CASP5 using CRISPR-Cas9 delivery via lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to selectively knock out these genes in keratinocytes, resulting in significant therapeutic effects in the IMQ-induced psoriasis mouse model. Our findings provide comprehensive insights into the role of pyroptosis in psoriasis and propose a novel gene editing strategy for alleviating the disease.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1639869/fullpsoriasispyroptosisimmune infiltrationrisk scorelipid nanoparticlesCRISPR-Cas9
spellingShingle Gexiao Xu
Guanyi Ma
Jiachen Sun
Xiaoyan Yu
Jie Sun
Bing Gao
Comprehensive analysis of pyroptosis-related genes in psoriasis and targeted gene editing of CASP1 and CASP5 using lipid nanoparticles to alleviate skin inflammation
Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
psoriasis
pyroptosis
immune infiltration
risk score
lipid nanoparticles
CRISPR-Cas9
title Comprehensive analysis of pyroptosis-related genes in psoriasis and targeted gene editing of CASP1 and CASP5 using lipid nanoparticles to alleviate skin inflammation
title_full Comprehensive analysis of pyroptosis-related genes in psoriasis and targeted gene editing of CASP1 and CASP5 using lipid nanoparticles to alleviate skin inflammation
title_fullStr Comprehensive analysis of pyroptosis-related genes in psoriasis and targeted gene editing of CASP1 and CASP5 using lipid nanoparticles to alleviate skin inflammation
title_full_unstemmed Comprehensive analysis of pyroptosis-related genes in psoriasis and targeted gene editing of CASP1 and CASP5 using lipid nanoparticles to alleviate skin inflammation
title_short Comprehensive analysis of pyroptosis-related genes in psoriasis and targeted gene editing of CASP1 and CASP5 using lipid nanoparticles to alleviate skin inflammation
title_sort comprehensive analysis of pyroptosis related genes in psoriasis and targeted gene editing of casp1 and casp5 using lipid nanoparticles to alleviate skin inflammation
topic psoriasis
pyroptosis
immune infiltration
risk score
lipid nanoparticles
CRISPR-Cas9
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1639869/full
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