Background Hand eczema is the most common occupational skin disease. The etiology is multifactorial. Systemic alitretinoin, a pan-retinoic receptor agonist, has proven efficacy in the treatment of recalcitrant chronic hand eczema; however, its precise mechanism of action in hand eczema is not fully understood.Aims Assessment of the level of expression of retinoid receptors (RAR and RXR) in the skin of patients with hand eczema in an attempt to explain their possible role in the pathogenesis of the disease.Methods Thirty patients with hand eczema and 30 age-and sex-matched healthy controls were included. Full clinical examination was done, and tissue levels of retinoic acid receptor (RAR) and retinoid x receptor (RXR) were measured by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR).
ResultsThe levels of RAR and RXR expression were significantly downregulated in the patient group compared to the control group; (P < 0.001) for both. In addition, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between Osnabr€ uck Hand Eczema Severity Index (OHSI) and the levels of RAR and RXR expression (P < 0.001).Conclusion Deficient retinoid receptor expression has a primary role in the pathogenesis, clinical phenotype, and severity of hand eczema and sheds light on the mechanism of action of retinoids in the treatment of chronic hand eczema.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.