Atopic dermatitis articles from across Nature Portfolio

Ratley, Zeldin et al. implicate xylene in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis by combining spatial analysis and patient surveys with prior epidemiological and mechanistic data. They propose that exposure of healthy skin commensals to xylene, benzene and isocyantes in synthetic fabrics disrupts normal lipid metabolism and activates itching.

Atopic dermatitis is an inflammatory skin disease featuring systemic involvement. Here authors show that the two major clinical manifestations of the disease, erythema and papulation, are distinguished by differential interplay between local skin and systemic immunity, uncovered by integrated transcriptomics.

Inflammatory skin diseases are frequently associated with dysregulation of cutaneous immunity. Here the authors perform human challenge with house dust mite allergen in patients with atopic dermatitis and explore the molecular network determining tolerance versus inflammation and identify a role for metallothioneins in the modulation of allergen induced inflammation.

De Jong and colleagues identify staphylococcal phosphatidylglycerol lipids as antigens for human CD1a-restricted T cells, which promote type 2 immune responses and may contribute to atopic dermatitis.

This study found that coagulase-negative staphylococci found on human skin inhibit Staphylococcus aureus quorum sensing and may influence the pathophysiology of S. aureus-associated atopic dermatitis.

The market for atopic dermatitis therapies is dominated by topical corticosteroids, but is poised to change with the recent approvals of dupilumab and crisaborole, as well as other drugs in clinical development.

The relationship between atopic dermatitis and air pollution has been long debated but has now been connected via the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and its control of skin innervation and the consequent triggering of an itch-scratch response.