Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an inflammatory skin disease which affects 15 to 20 % of children and 1 to 3 % of adults worldwide. AD can be triggered by allergens and involves a dysregulation of several mechanisms of inflammation that also play a role in asthma and allergic reactions. Recently dupilumab, which is a human monoclonal antibody targeting the alpha subunit of the interleukin 4 receptor (IL4R), has been approved for treatment of AD. IL4R plays a major role in the pathogenesis of allergies by inhibiting the signalling of the cytokines interleukin 4 (IL4) and interleukin 13 (IL13). Aim of this study was to investigate the tissue-specific processes of AD, in more detail, the identification of cytokines in non-lesional and lesional skin and blood, and their local and systemic levels before and after dupilumab administration. For this purpose, cytokine levels were monitored in interstital fluid (ISF) and blood before (baseline) and 16 weeks after biweekly subcutaneous dupilumab-treatment. ISF samples were collected with dermal open flow microperfusion (dOFM) from lesional and non-lesional skin. The study included 8 patients with moderate to severe AD.
Eleven cytokines were quantified with the Mesoscale Discovery System from the dOFM and blood samples. Additionally, aliquots from the same samples were sent to OLINK for measurement with OLINK® target 48 platform. With both platforms, an increase of IL4 and IL13 was observed after dupilumab-treatment in blood and in ISF. Levels of immune markers related to inflammation such as MMP12 and Th2 (CCL13) also showed significant decreases after dupilumab-treatment in both kind of samples. IL5 was only decreased in ISF of lesional skin. From these results it can be concluded that dupilumab-treatment had a significant impact on the cytokine levels in AD patients and contributed to decreased inflammation.

LB035 - The impact of dupilumab-treatment on cytokine levels in atopic dermatitis

The scientific meeting of the European Society for Dermatological Research (ESDR) is held yearly, usually in September. With an international attendance of more than 1000 skin scientists from around the globe, the four-day event includes short oral presentations from peer-reviewed abstracts, keynote lectures from international experts, sponsored symposia, satellite programs, educational events as well as an important focus on posters, networking and building collaborations amongst scientists. For more information about this year’s meeting visit our website.