Molecular characterization of inflammation and Staphylococcus aureus colonization of involved skin of atopic dermatitis patients. A non-invasive approach

• Published in: Skin pharmacology and physiology Vol. 21; no. 5; p. 260
• Main Authors: Casas, C, Ginisty, H, Alvarez-Georges, S, Viodé, C, Lejeune, O, Rouvrais, C, Schmitt, A M, Redoulès, D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland 2008
• Subjects: Bacterial Toxins - genetics; Bacterial Toxins - isolation & purification; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child, Preschool; Dermatitis, Atopic - genetics; Dermatitis, Atopic - microbiology; DNA, Bacterial - isolation & purification; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Genotype; Humans; Infant; Inflammation - genetics; Inflammation - microbiology; Interleukins - metabolism; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis - methods; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Severity of Illness Index; Staphylococcal Skin Infections - genetics; Staphylococcal Skin Infections - microbiology; Staphylococcus aureus - genetics; Staphylococcus aureus - isolation & purification; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 1660-5535
• DOI: 10.1159/000143391

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory disease mainly stemming from a genetic predisposition that leads to hypersensitivity to environmental factors and a common involvement of Staphylococcus aureus (SA) colonization. The aim of this work was to propose a new non-invasive approach to enumerate the genes coding for the toxins of SA in atopic skin samples. In parallel, the study aimed to evaluate the change in AD through 3 markers of the inflammatory response: IL-8, IL-1RA/IL-1alpha and IL-18. These methods were tested on 31 patients with AD, and finally on a group of 19 subjects for whom clinical improvement had been reported after various treatments. The study revealed the presence of a large number of genes encoding toxins in atopic samples, indicating a high rate of SA colonization, and also an increase in the level of all cytokine markers in atopic skin compared to the skin of healthy subjects. Finally, we found a positive correlation between increases in the SCORAD (Scoring Atopic Dermatitis Index) value after treatment and the corresponding evolution of the SA density. These methods provide a means to clinically evaluate the course of AD, and may help in the development of potential treatments.