Atopic dermatitis (AD) affects up to 20% of children and adults worldwide. To gain a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of AD, we conducted a large-scale transcriptomic study of AD with deeply sequenced RNA-sequencing samples using long (126-bp) paired-end reads. In addition to the comparisons against previous transcriptomic studies, we conducted in-depth analysis to obtain a high-resolution view of the global architecture of the AD transcriptome and contrasted it with that of psoriasis from the same cohort. By using 147 RNA samples in total, we found striking correlation between dysregulated genes in lesional psoriasis and lesional AD skin with 81% of AD dysregulated genes being shared with psoriasis. However, we described disease-specific molecular and cellular features, with AD skin showing dominance of IL-13 pathways, but with near undetectable IL-4 expression. We also demonstrated greater disease heterogeneity and larger proportion of dysregulated long noncoding RNAs in AD, and illustrated the translational impact, including skin-type classification and drug-target prediction. This study is by far the largest study comparing the AD and psoriasis transcriptomes using RNA sequencing and demonstrating the shared inflammatory components, as well as specific discordant cytokine signatures of these two skin diseases.

Collectively, our data identify IFN-κ as a critical IFN in CLE pathology via promotion of enhanced IFN responses and photosensitivity. IFN-κ is a potential novel target for UVB prophylaxis and CLE-directed therapy.

Purpose: The study aimed to explore the prevalence and possible risk factors to prevent the face mask related adverse skin reactions during the ongoing COVID-19 after a recommendation of face mask wearing for public use in Thailand. Results: The prevalence of face mask related adverse skin reactions was 454 cases (54.5%), of which acne was the most frequent (399; 39.9%), followed by rashes on the face (154; 18.4%), and itch symptoms (130; 15.6%). Wearing a surgical mask showed a higher risk of adverse skin reaction compared to a cloth mask, OR (95% CI) = 1.54 (1.16-2.06). A duration of face mask wearing of more than 4 hours/day and the reuse of face masks increased the risk of adverse skin reactions compared to changing the mask every day, adjusted OR(95% CI) = 1.96 (1.29-2.98), and 1.5 (1.11-2.02). Conclusion: Suggestions were made for wearing a cloth mask in non-health care workers (HCW) to decrease the risk of face mask related adverse skin reactions. This suggestion could potentially help in decreasing the demand of surgical masks which should be reserved for the HCW population during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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Background: Although multiple studies have assessed molecular changes in chronic atopic dermatitis (AD) lesions, little is known about the transition from acute to chronic disease stages, and the factors and mechanisms that shape chronic inflammatory activity. Objectives: We sought to assess the global transcriptome changes that characterize the progression from acute to chronic stages of AD. Methods: We analyzed transcriptome changes in paired nonlesional skin, acute and chronic AD lesions from 11 patients and 38 healthy controls by RNA-sequencing, and conducted in vivo and histological assays to evaluate findings. Results: Our data demonstrate that approximately 74% of the genes dysregulated in acute lesions remain or are further dysregulated in chronic lesions, whereas only 34% of the genes dysregulated in chronic lesions are altered already in the acute stage. Nonlesional AD skin exhibited enrichment of TNF, T H 1, T H 2, and T H 17 response genes. Acute lesions showed marked dendritic-cell signatures and a prominent enrichment of T H 1, T H 2, and T H 17 responses, along with increased IL-36 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin expression, which were further heightened in chronic lesions. In addition, genes involved in skin barrier repair, keratinocyte proliferation, wound healing, and negative regulation of T-cell activation showed a significant dysregulation in the chronic versus acute comparison. Furthermore, our data show progressive changes in vasculature and maturation of dendritic-cell subsets with chronicity, with FOXK1 acting as immune regulator. Conclusions: Our results show that the changes accompanying the transition from nonlesional to acute to chronic inflammation in AD are quantitative rather than qualitative, with chronic AD having heightened T H 2, T H 1, T H 17, and IL36 responses and skin barrier repair mechanisms. These findings provide novel insights and highlight underappreciated pathways in AD pathogenesis that may be amenable to therapeutic targeting. (J