Since the identification of high levels of interleukin 23 (IL- 23) in psoriasis lesional skin, as well as finding that IL-23 was the most important source of the p40 subunit shared by IL-12 and IL-23, significant effort has been made in identifying potential new drugs that specifically block the unique IL-23 p19 subunit.
Interleukin-23 (IL-23), a heterodimeric cytokine of covalently bound p19 and p40 proteins, has recently been closely associated with development of several chronic autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease.
The IL12B gene encodes the common p40 subunit of IL-12 and IL-23, cytokines with key roles in Th1 and Th17 biology, respectively, and genetic variation in this region significantly influences risk of psoriasis.