Cited by 168Dermatology and Skin DiseasesContact Dermatitis and AllergiesAsthma and respiratory diseases

The molecular features of normal and atopic dermatitis skin in infants, children, adolescents, and adults

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Renert-Yuval, Yael, Del Duca, Ester, Pavel, Ana B., Fang, Milie, Lefferdink, Rachel, Wu, Jianni, Diaz, Aisleen, Estrada, Yeriel D. +7 more·2021·Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Abstract

Background Although atopic dermatitis (AD) often presents in infancy and persists into adulthood, comparative characterization of AD skin among different pediatric age groups is lacking.Objective We sought to define skin biopsy profiles of lesional and nonlesional AD across different age groups (0-5-year-old infants with disease duration <6 months, 6-11-year-old children, 12-17-year-old adolescents, ≥18-year-old adults) versus age-appropriate controls.Methods We performed gene expression analyses by RNA-sequencing and real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and protein expression analysis using immunohistochemistry.Results T H 2/T H 22 skewing, including IL-13, CCL17/thymus and activation-regulated chemokine, IL-22, and S100As, characterized the common AD signature, with a global pathway-level enrichment across all ages. Nevertheless, specific cytokines varied widely. For example, IL-33, IL-1RL1/IL-33R, and IL-9, often associated with early atopic sensitization, showed greatest upregulations in infants. T H 17 inflammation presented a 2-peak curve, with highest increases in infants (including IL-17A and IL-17F), followed by adults. T H 1 polarization was uniquely detected in adults, even when compared with adolescents, with significant upregulation in adults of IFN-γ and CXCL9/CXCL10/CXCL11. Although all AD age groups had barrier abnormalities, only adults had significant decreases in filaggrin expression. Despite the short duration of the disease, infant AD presented robust downregulations of multiple barrier-related genes in both lesional and nonlesional skin. Clinical severity scores significantly correlated with T H 2/T H 22-related markers in all pediatric age groups.Conclusions The shared signature of AD across ages is T H 2/T H 22-skewed, yet differential expression of specific T H 2/T H 22-related genes, other T H pathways, and barrier-related genes portray heterogenetic, age-specific molecular fingerprints.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.jaci.2021.01.001

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  • The sequential and/or cumulative immunological events underlying the complex clinical phenotype are key to understanding the value of targeted therapies for distinct pathways such as TH2, TH17, and/or TH22.

    “The sequential and/or cumulative immunological events that underlie the complex clinical phenotype are key to understanding the value of targeted therapies for distinct pathways such as TH2, TH17 and/or TH22 response124,125.”

    From Atopic dermatitis: an expanding therapeutic pipeline for a complex disease (2022) · cites this paper as [125]

    The Results describe age-related differences in TH2, TH17 and TH22 markers, and the Discussion says these differences may inform the choice of targeted treatment. The paper does not establish sequential or cumulative immunological events underlying the clinical phenotype, or the value of therapies targeting each of the three pathways; it says the treatment implications require age-specific clinical trials. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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  • There is increasing evidence that the IL-23-IL-17 axis and IL-36 may have a role in some AD subtypes, such as the intrinsic form and in Asian patients.

    “there is increasing evidence that the IL-23–IL-17 axis as well as IL-36 (see above) may have a role, at least in some AD subtypes such as the so-called intrinsic form and in Asian patients73,103,117,123–125.”

    From Atopic dermatitis: an expanding therapeutic pipeline for a complex disease (2022) · cites this paper as [125]

    The Results and Discussion report elevated IL-17 and other TH17-related markers in atopic dermatitis, particularly in infants, supporting a possible role for that pathway. The passages do not establish a role for IL-36 or address the specified intrinsic and Asian patient subtypes; searches for those terms did not find relevant passages. The cited paper studies age groups rather than those subtypes. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [79]Czarnowicki T, He H, Canter T, Han J, Lefferdink R, Erickson T, Evolution of pathologic T-cell subsets in atopic dermatitis from infancy to adulthood. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2020; 145: 215– 28. 31626841 PMC6957229

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Authors
Renert-Yuval, Y., Del Duca, E., Pavel, A. B., Fang, M., Lefferdink, R., Wu, J., Diaz, A., Estrada, Y. D., Canter, T., Zhang, N., Wagner, A., Chamlin, S., Krueger, J. G., Guttman-Yassky, E., & Paller, A. S.
Affiliations
  • University of Mississippi (US)
  • Northwestern University (US)
  • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (US)
  • Rockefeller University (US)
Corresponding author
Paller, Amy S.
Venue
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-07
Volume
148
Issue
1
Pages
148-163
ISSN
0091-6749 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3120289132
Cited by
168
References
96
Citations by year
2026: 23 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 12
FWCI
24.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Feinberg School of Medicine
  • Rockefeller University
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Dermatology and Skin Diseases
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Contact Dermatitis and Allergies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Asthma and respiratory diseases
Keywords
atopic dermatitis, age differences, skin transcriptome, IL-13, IL-22, IL-33, IL-9, Th17 inflammation, Th1 polarization, skin barrier genes, filaggrin, disease severity, infants, children, adolescents, adults
MeSH terms
Filaggrin Proteins, Adolescent, Adult, Child, Dermatitis, Atopic, Eczema, Female, Humans, Infant, Inflammation, Male, Severity of Illness Index, Skin, Biomarkers, Cytokines, Th2 Cells, Young Adult

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