Cytokines induced by sunlight in eczema
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Effects of UV on IL-22 cytokine production in atopic dermatitis.
IRAS ID
158978
Contact name
Richard Weller
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 15 days
Research summary
Atopic dermatitis (AD) or eczema is a debilitating condition which has become commoner in the last 30 years,and now affects 20% of children. The causes are not fully understood. Many AD patients improve in the sun, and one of the most effective medical treatments is ultraviolet therapy. The degree of response to sunlight/artificial UV varies between individuals however, with some clearing fully, and others benefiting only slightly. We are searching for factors that might be responsible for this variation with laboratory experiments, but wish to also look for correlations in man.
Several possible eczema modulating mechanisms are influenced by sunlight/UV. Interleukin 22 (IL-22) is a recently identified functional protein produced by immune cells, which is closely related with development and progression of AD. Thus we suspect UV has direct effect on IL-22 production by immune cells and this effect will determine the response of eczema patients to ultraviolet treatment.
We will follow a cohort of 12 AD patients during their course of phototherapy treatment in the Edinburgh Dermatology Department. Control group contains 6 AD patients who receive systemic treatment and 6 psoriatic patients who will receive the same phototherapy procedure as AD patients.We will measure eczema severity at the start and at the end of treatment. At the same time as scoring the patients’ eczema, we will take samples of blood and skin to measure levels of UV affected products such as vitamin D, nitric oxide, cis-UCA and IL-22 in the circulation and in skin. We will measure how these interact with one another. This will add clinical data to the linked laboratory studies which we are performing.REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NW/1409
Date of REC Opinion
24 Nov 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion