Imiquimod does not elicit inflammatory responses in the skin of the naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber)

Abstract

Objective: Naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber) has recently attracted interest in biomedical research due to its exceptional longevity, cancer resistance and tolerance to potentially harmful conditions or stimuli. Given its unique attributes, this study was designed to characterize inflammatory skin reactions of this animal to topical application of imiquimod, a toll-like receptor 7 and 8 agonist that triggers psoriasis-like skin reaction. Results: Imiquimod did not cause the expected psoriasis-like skin changes. There was no epidermal thickening and a straight epidermo-dermal boundary was maintained. There was no parakeratosis and the granular layer of epidermis was well formed. In the dermis, there was no leukocyte infiltration. This points to an exceptional nature of inflammatory/immune responses of this animal, but the mechanism could not be explained by our results. Naked mole rat could be a valuable negative model for studying psoriasis and other inflammatory skin conditions but as a prerequisite, there is need for further investigations to establish the mechanisms behind its lack of response to imiquimod.