Patent ID: 8293212

Claim:
A method for screening for an inhibitor which inhibits induction of production of interleukin 18 from keratinocytes, said method comprising: a step for inducing the production of interleukin 18 from keratinocytes, by applying a stimulator on the skin of a normal living organism provided as a host thereby producing an interleukin 18 mediated inflammation; and an inhibitor identifying step for applying a candidate-substance on the inflammatory part of the living organism to which the stimulator has been applied, or orally administering the candidate-substance to the living organism to which the stimulator has been applied, and identifying, as the inhibitor, a substance which inhibits the induction of the production of interleukin 18 from the keratinocytes, the stimulator being selected from at least one of (i) protein A derived from Staphylococcus aureus or (ii) a mutant of the protein A, the mutant being capable of stimulating keratinocyte being used, and the mutant being a protein which (i) has an amino acid sequence with amino acids, the number of which is not less than 1 but not more than 5, replaced, deleted, inserted, and/or added, and (ii) negatively controls expression of B7-2 molecule of a surface of cells.