IL6 and psoriasis: Real-time PCR and western blot results also showed that, compared with the normal mice, Mincle mRNA and protein levels were significantly increased in the skin of IMQ-induced psoriasis (Fig. 2E, I, J), which were associated with a marked upregulation pro-inflammatory cytokines iNOS, IL-1β and IL-6 (Fig. 2F–H, K-–), demonstrating that IMQ treatment can induce psoriasis-like skin lesions in mice mimicking psoriasis in patients.