Molecular characterization of inflammation and Staphylococcus aureus colonization of involved skin of atopic dermatitis patients

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-1 alpha 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. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.