Research on the mechanism of Huaier on psoriasis based on transcriptome sequencing analysis

• Transcriptome sequencing was used to detect the difference of gene expression after the reaction of Huaier on keratinocytes. • Within the Huaier treatment, 123 differentially expressed genes were found, involving 265 GO functions and 15 KEGG pathways. • Combined with enrichment analysis, it was found that Huaier could affect the IL-17 pathway for psoriasis treatment by acting on IL-6, ARRB1, CDH5, MYH11 and PPP3R1 genes. Psoriasis is an inflammatory immune skin disease with high incidence worldwide. As a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Huaier has a variety of pharmacological effects such as immune regulation and anti-inflammation. The aim of this study is to investigate the mechanism of action of Huaier on psoriasis and provide direction and basis for the treatment of psoriasis. Human keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells are frequently investigated as a target for psoriasis. Previous studies have found that Huaier can inhibit the proliferation and activity of Hacat cells, and arrest the cell cycle of Hacat cells in G1 phase, but the mechanism is still unclear. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of Huaier in inhibiting the proliferation of Hacat cells and to analyze its potential targets and molecular mechanisms. At different concentrations of Huaier, compared with the control group, Huaier significantly inhibited the proliferation and activity of Hacat cells in a concentration-dependent manner (p < 0.05). The results of Transcriptome Sequencing Analysis after Huaier treatment at IC50 concentration showed that Huaier significantly changed the expression of 103 genes in Hacat cells and regulated 15 signaling pathways (p < 0.05). The results of correlation analysis showed that Huaier may regulate the IL-17 signaling pathway, which is important in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, by affecting the expression of key genes such as IL-6, ARRB1, CDH5, MYH11 and PPP3R1, and inhibit the activity of Hacat cells, thus exerting a potential therapeutic effect on psoriasis.This will provide clues and directions for the treatment of psoriasis with TCM.