High-Dimensional Profiling of Circulating Dendritic Cells and Monocytes in Atopic Dermatitis Patients by Mass...

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Dermatology
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition with complex causes.
• While T helper type 2 cells are known drivers, the role of myeloid cells in AD is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of dendritic cells (DCs) and monocytes in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis.
• To characterize myeloid cell populations in peripheral blood and lesional skin of AD patients.

Main Methods:

• Mass cytometry was used to profile peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 48 AD patients and 48 healthy controls.
• Analysis included a public single-cell RNA sequencing dataset and immunofluorescence staining of lesional skin.

Main Results:

• Circulating classical dendritic cell type 1 (cDC1) were significantly decreased in AD patients and correlated negatively with disease severity.
• Increased expression of FcεRIa was observed in multiple DC subsets, alongside an increased DC3 signature.
• cDC1 showed increased expression of cutaneous lymphocyte antigen and were more frequent in AD lesional skin.

Conclusions:

• The study identifies a decreased circulating cDC1 frequency and an increased DC3 signature in AD.
• Increased cDC1 in lesional skin suggests their involvement in modulating AD pathophysiology.