NPF-Funded Research

Project Summary:

Most psoriasis treatments work by suppressing or modifying the immune system, which can cause side effects and does not work equally well for everyone. We are developing a different strategy that targets skin cells called keratinocytes, which play an active role in psoriasis. We have developed first-in-class inhibitors of TREX2, a protein mainly found in these skin cells, that effectively reduce psoriasis-like inflammation in our preclinical studies. This project will help us understand how TREX2 inhibition changes psoriatic skin and identify measurable biological responses in human tissue. Ultimately, our goal is to advance a new skin-directed, non-immunosuppressive treatment option for people living with psoriasis.

How will your project help improve the lives of the 125 million affected by psoriatic disease?

Despite major advances in psoriasis treatment, not all patients respond adequately to existing therapies, responses can diminish over time, and many treatments rely on long-term modulation of the immune system. Our project explores a fundamentally different approach: targeting keratinocytes, the skin cells that actively contribute to the inflammatory cycle of psoriasis. By understanding how TREX2 inhibition modifies psoriatic skin, validating these effects directly in human tissue, and identifying biomarkers associated with treatment response, this project will provide critical evidence to advance our first-in-class TREX2 inhibitors toward clinical development. In the long term, this approach could support the development of a new generation of skin-directed, non-immunosuppressive treatments that complement existing therapies and provide additional options for people whose disease is not adequately controlled or who would benefit from alternatives to systemic immune modulation.

Ultimately, we hope to expand therapeutic choice and help more people living with psoriasis achieve effective and durable disease control.

Why is psoriatic disease research important to you, personally? What role will this award play in your research efforts or career development?

Psoriatic disease research is particularly meaningful to me because it brings together fundamental biology and the opportunity to make a tangible difference in patients’ lives. Seeing a scientific discovery progress toward a potential new treatment is extremely motivating and, as a basic researcher, represents one of the most rewarding goals of my work. Beyond the financial support, receiving this award from an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with psoriatic disease is especially meaningful to our team. It reinforces the value of pursuing this translational path and will help us generate the evidence needed to move TREX2 inhibitors closer to clinical development.

Researcher Profile:

Dr. Concepció Soler is Full Professor of Immunology and Principal Investigator at the University of Barcelona, where she heads a research group focused on immunity, inflammation and skin disease, while also leading the Immunity, Inflammation and Cancer research group at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute - IDIBELL. Her research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate skin homeostasis and inflammatory skin disease. Her team identified TREX2, a keratinocyte-specific exonuclease, as a novel therapeutic target in psoriasis and has pioneered the development of first-in-class small-molecule TREX2 inhibitors. Her research integrates molecular and cellular biology, disease models, and translational drug discovery with the goal of transforming fundamental discoveries into new therapeutic opportunities for patients with inflammatory skin diseases.