Suramin attenuated inflammation and reversed skin tissue damage in experimentally induced atopic dermatitis in mice

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a skin disease that is characterized by inflammation. Skin barrier dysfunction is commonly seen in AD leading to commonly seen infectious lesions in the skin of AD. Most people develop the skin inflammation condition first, before any skin lesions become visible. Suramin is potent competitive inhibitor of reverse transcriptase and blocks the infectivity and cytopathic effects. Therefore, the following study was performed to illustrate if suramin could produce protection against AD in-vivo. AD like symptoms were introduced in mice by epicutaneous application of DNCB on shaved dorsal skin and ears. 20 mg/kg suramin was taken by intra-peritoneal injection twice weekly for 3 weeks to assess their anti-pruritic effects. Serum levels of inflammatory cytokine, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-αwere assessed by using ELISA kits. We found that suramin alleviated DNCB-induced AD-like symptoms as quantified by skin lesion, dermatitis score, ear thickness and scratching behavior. Levels of reactive oxygen species in the suramin group were significantly inhibited as compared with that in the DNCB group. In parallel, suramin blocked DNCB-induced elevation in serum TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IgE. The collective results indicate that suramin suppresses DNCB-induced AD in mice via reduction of inflammatory mediators.