Current evaluation of the cytokine status of children with atopic dermatitis

<p>In recent years, cytokines have played the most important role in the regulation of immunopathological mechanisms, allergic reactions in particular. The objective of the study was to determine the presence, frequency, and levels of cytokines in children with atopic dermatitis. Ninety patients with atopic dermatitis (a study group) and 11 children without signs of this condition (a comparison group) were examined. The levels of the interleukins IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-17, IL-17F, IL-22, and TGF-β1 and the chemokines eotaxin and eotaxin-2 were determined in a single serum specimen by enzyme immunoassay. The cytokine status of children with atopic dermatitis was not established to fundamentally differ from that of the comparison group. However, the frequency and mean concentrations of interleukins and chemokines were different. The specific feature of a cytokine profile in children with atopic dermatitis lies in a marked imbalance in the levels of all the studied cytokines. The significant elevation of IL-4, IL-5, TGF-β1 , and IL-22 levels in children with atopic dermatitis suggest that consideration of the pathogenesis of this disease only in terms of the predominance of TH2 lymphocyte activation is more than sketchy.