The local Th17 cell response promotes kidney injury by recruiting neutrophils and other leukocyte subtypes to the target tissue in mice (Disteldorf et al., 2015), and its presence in human patients is a prerequisite for translating the findings gained from animal models into clinical practice, for example, as successfully done in IL-17A targeting for the treatment of psoriasis (Leonardi et al., 2012, Mease et al., 2014). The gene discussed is IL17A; the disease is psoriasis.