Cytokine gene expression in atopic dermatits

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To date, a number of findings suggesting a predominance of type 2 helper T cell (Th2) have been reported in atopic dermatitis (AD). On the other hand, a predominance of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) messenger RNA (mRNA) expression was recently demonstrated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the lesions of AD.To address the controversial issue, we investigated both transcription and translation of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IFN-gamma in the lesions of five AD patients by in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunostaining. In mRNA and protein level, coexpression of IL-4 and IFN-gamma was observed. The number of IFN-gamma mRNA-positive cells (14.0<plus-minus>6.7) was significantly higher than that of IL-4 mRNA-positive cells (2.4<plus-minus>1.1) (p=0.04). The number of positive staining cells of IFN-gamma (6.3<plus-minus>2.8) were also significantly higher than that of IL-4 (1.8<plus-minus>1.2) (p=0.04). However, the number of IL-4 mRNA-positive cells tended to correlate with the AD severity (r=0.76, p=0.13), suggesting an important role of IL-4 in the pathogenesi