Dichotomic Nature of Atopic Dermatitis Reflected by Combined Analysis of Monocyte Immunophenotyping and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of the Interleukin-4/Interleukin-13 Receptor Gene: The Dichotomy of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Atopic Dermatitis

• Published in: Journal of investigative dermatology Vol. 119; no. 4; pp. 870 - 875
• Main Authors: Novak, Natalija, Kraft, Stefan, Geiger, Elisabeth, Klüken, Hildegard, Bieber, Thomas, Kruse, Susanne, Fimmers, Rolf, Deichmann, Klaus A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Danvers, MA Elsevier Inc 01.10.2002; Nature Publishing; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; atopic dermatitis; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Dermatitis, Atopic - immunology; Experimental viral diseases and models; FcεRI; FcεRII; Female; Humans; Immunophenotyping; Infectious diseases; interleukin-13; Interleukin-13 - blood; Interleukin-13 Receptor alpha1 Subunit; interleukin-4; Interleukin-4 - genetics; Interleukin-5 - blood; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; monocyte; Monocytes - immunology; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Receptors, IgE - analysis; Receptors, Interleukin - genetics; Receptors, Interleukin-13; Receptors, Interleukin-4 - genetics; single nucleotide polymorphism; soluble form of interleukin-4R; Viral diseases; interleukin-4; single nucleotide polymorphism; atopic dermatitis; monocyte; FcεRI; FcεRII; interleukin-13; soluble form of interleukin-4R; Human; Allergy; Immunopathology; Skin disease; Immunophenotype; Cytokine; Interleukin 13; Genetic determinism; Atopy; Interleukin 4; Phenotype; Gene; Immunological investigation; Atopic dermatitis; Eczema; Genetics; Single nucleotide polymorphism; atopic dermatitis/FcεRI/FcεRII/interleukin- 13/interleukin-4/monocyte/single nucleotide polymorphism/soluble form of interleukin-4R; Molecular biology; Biological receptor
• ISSN: 0022-202X; 1523-1747
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1523-1747.2002.00191.x

Patients with atopic dermatitis display substantial immunologic abnormalities, among which elevated total IgE is considered as a hallmark; however, a subgroup of atopic dermatitis patients exhibits normal IgE levels, but mechanisms contributing to the so-called “intrinsic” or “nonallergic” form of atopic dermatitis are obscure. In order to unravel similarities and differences of both atopic dermatitis subtypes, the phenotype of monocytes, total serum IgE levels, and serum levels of cytokines regulating the IgE production from nonatopic individuals and patients with allergic rhinitis, and extrinsic and intrinsic atopic dermatitis were measured. Concomitantly, genomic DNA probes of all subjects were analyzed for single nucleotide polymorphisms of candidate genes of structures involved in the regulation of the IgE synthesis, such as interleukin-4 and the interleukin-4R/interleukin-13R. Our data show that the surface expression of the high- and low-affinity receptor for IgE (FcεRI and FcεRII/CD23) and the interleukin-4Rα chain were significantly elevated in monocytes from patients with extrinsic atopic dermatitis. Furthermore, serum levels of interleukin-13 were significantly increased in patients with intrinsic atopic dermatitis. In addition, the frequency of the interleukin-4Rα polymorphism C3223T and the interleukin-4 polymorphism C590T tended to be higher in extrinsic atopic dermatitis than in intrinsic atopic dermatitis. Altogether our findings indicate that intrinsic atopic dermatitis patients exhibit phenotypic and immunologic features, which differ from those of patients with extrinsic atopic dermatitis or other atopic disorders.