Developing a 3D printed skin model using a Dextran - Collagen hydrogel to analyse the cellular and epigenetic effects of interleukin-17 inhibitors in

A 3D printed skin model made from a dextran-collagen hydrogel will be used to test how interleukin-17 inhibitors affect the cellular and epigenetic state of psoriasis skin. Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune skin disease that produces inflamed, scaly patches. Biological drugs have transformed treatment, but many patients do not respond, others relapse, and long-term drug-free remission remains rare. Evidence shows that skin from psoriasis patients has a different pattern of DNA methylation compared to healthy skin, and this altered methylation may keep skin cells locked in a hyper-inflammatory state. This project will investigate whether controlling that methylation state is key to achieving lasting treatment response. If successful, this work could help explain why some patients fail to respond to current therapies and point toward ways to achieve durable remission. The research is fundamental in nature — it aims to understand the epigenetic mechanisms that maintain disease activity, rather than to deliver an immediate clinical tool. Deeper knowledge of how methylation drives inflammation could eventually inform the design of treatments that reset the skin’s epigenetic profile, rather than just suppressing symptoms.