Topical drug effects on normal and proliferating epidermal cell models

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Abstract
The effects of 28 different potential antiproliferative agents applied topically to normal and hyperproliferative hairless mouse skin were studied. Epidermal cell hyperproliferation was induced by an essential fatty acid-deficient diet or by irradiation with short-wavelength UV energy. Epidermal DNA synthesis was measured by hydroxyapatite column chromatography. The effects of the drugs used on normal and hyperproliferative hairless mouse skin were compared with clinical responses in patients with psoriasis treated using the same topical preparations. For most of the drugs tested, the normal and essential fatty acid-deficient mouse model effects showed a good correlation with clinical responses seen in treated patients with psoriasis. The short-wavelength UV energy-treated mouse model effects showed a poorer clinical correlation, perhaps partially due to wide variations in DNA synthetic rates encountered in the epidermis in this model.