Genetic studies of candidate genes in eczema

Eczema is a common inflammatory skin disorder characterised by itching and relapsing eczematous lesions. It usually presents in early childhood and affects about 10-20% of all children. The background is multifactorial, with both environmental risk factors and hereditary factors contributing to the development of the disease. The aim with this thesis was to identify susceptibility genes that contribute to eczema development. In a systematic analysis of global gene-expression patterns in eczema skin, we found the SOCS3 gene to be significantly more highly expressed than in skin from healthy controls and immunohistochemical analysis confirmed an elevation of the SOCS3 protein. Furthermore, we found a genetic association between eczema and a haplotype in the SOCS3 gene in two independent groups of patients (p