Atopic dermatitis endotypes and implications for targeted therapeutics

Abstract

Recent research advancements indicate that atopic dermatitis (AD) is a complex disease characterized by different subtypes/phenotypes based on age, disease chronicity, ethnicity, filaggrin and IgE status, and underlying molecular mechanisms/endotypes. This heterogeneity advocates against the traditional "one-size-fits-all" therapeutic approaches still used to manage AD. Precision medicine approaches, striving for targeted, tailored, endotype-driven disease prevention and treatment, rely on detailed definitions of the disease's variability across different phenotypes. Studies have shown that AD harbors different endotypes across different age groups and ethnicities and according to IgE levels and filaggrin mutation status. These include European American versus Asian patients, children versus adults, intrinsic versus extrinsic (IgE status) disease, and patients with and without filaggrin mutations. Therapies targeting different cytokine axes and other mechanisms involved in disease pathogenesis, which are currently being tested for patients with AD across the disease spectrum, will expand our ability to dissect the relative contribution of each of these pathways to disease perpetuation.

Keywords: African American; Asian; Atopic dermatitis; European American; endotype; filaggrin; intrinsic and extrinsic; phenotype; precision medicine; targeted therapies.