A Pilot Study to Explore the Usefulness of Antibody Array in Childhood Atopic Dermatitis

Background The pathophysiology of childhood atopic dermatitis (AD) involves complex interactions among cellular, humoral, cytokine and chemokine systems. Objective To evaluate protein expressions using antibody microarray. Methods Severity-nine proteins were assayed using antibody microarray on AD patients age ≤18 years. Disease severity was assessed with the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) and Nottingham Eczema Severity Score (NESS), and quality of life with the Children Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI). Serum IgE levels were also assessed. Normal subjects without atopy were used as controls. Cytokines, chemokines and a wide array of proteins were assayed with RayBio® Human Cytokine Antibody Array V (RayBiotech, Norcross, GA). Results Nine Chinese children with AD and four normal subjects were recruited. The median SCORAD was 60.7. Among the 79 proteins, the levels of BDNF, Fit-3 ligand, IL-8, IL-16, LIGHT, MIP-1β, MIP-3α, NAP-2, PARC, TGF-β2 and TIMP-2 were significantly different from the controls. Nevertheless, no significance was found when adjusted for multiple comparisons using p=0.0006. Some of these markers showed significant correlations with various components of SCORAD, NESS and CDLQI. The serum IgE level as a marker of atopy correlates significantly with BDNF, LIGHT, PARC and TIMP-2. Conclusions The serum levels of BDNF, LIGHT, PARC and TIMP-2 correlate to IgE as a marker of atopy. Although targeting chemokines and chemokine receptors may offer new opportunities for therapeutic interventions in AD, protein assay with cytokine antibody array was generally not helpful in identifying specific molecules pertinent to AD activity.