Serum macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC) levels are closely related with the disease activity of atopic dermatitis

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic and relapsing inflammatory skin disease characterized by the predominant infiltration of T cells, eosinophils and macrophages in lesional skin. Recently, macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC)/CCL22, a CC chemokine, was identified as a selective chemoattractant for CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4)-expressing cells, in addition to thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC). We have previously reported that serum TARC levels correlate with the severity of AD. In this report, we investigated the participation of MDC in AD. First, we measured serum MDC levels in 45 patients with AD, 25 patients with psoriasis vulgaris and 25 healthy controls. Serum MDC levels in AD patients were significantly higher than those in healthy controls and psoriasis patients. Furthermore, the increases in serum MDC levels in AD patients were greater in the severely affected group than in the moderate or mild groups. We compared serum MDC levels in 11 AD patients, before and after treatment, and observed a significant decrease after treatment. Moreover, the serum MDC levels significantly correlated with the Scoring AD (SCORAD) index, serum soluble (s) E-selectin levels, serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) levels, serum TARC levels and eosinophil numbers in peripheral blood. Our study strongly suggests that serum MDC levels have a notable correlation with disease activity and that MDC, as well as the CC chemokine TARC, may be involved in the pathogenesis of AD.

Figure 1

Serum MDC levels in AD patients, healthy controls and psoriasis patients. (a) Serum MDC levels in the AD patients (n = 45) were significantly higher than those in the psoriasis vulgaris patients (Ps) (n = 25) or healthy controls (n = 25). (b) Serum MDC levels among healthy controls and three groups of AD patients: mild, moderate and severe. Serum MDC levels in the severe group (n = 13) were significantly higher than those in the mild (n = 10) or moderate (n = 22) groups. (c) Serum MDC levels were measured before and after treatment with topical corticosteroid (n = 11). Serum MDC levels significantly decreased after treatment.

Figure 2

Comparison between serum MDC levels and SCORAD (a) and serum TARC levels (b) in AD patients. Serum MDC levels in AD patients correlated with SCORAD (P < 0·001) (a) and serum TARC levels (P < 0·001) (b).

Figure 2

Comparison between serum MDC levels and SCORAD (a) and serum TARC levels (b) in AD patients. Serum MDC levels in AD patients correlated with SCORAD (P < 0·001) (a) and serum TARC levels (P < 0·001) (b).