Medium dose ultraviolet A1 phototherapy and mRNA expression of interleukin 8, interferon γ, and chemokine receptor 4 in acute skin lesions in atopic dermatitis

Introduction Mechanisms responsible for UVA1 efficacy in atopic dermatitis (AD) are not fully elucidated. Aim To investigate IL-8, CCR-4, and IFN-γ mRNA expression in AD before and after UVA1, to identify correlations among them, and to determine whether and to what degree mRNA expression is influenced by UVA1. Material and methods Twenty-five patients with AD underwent medium dose UVA1-phototherapy at daily dosages of 10, 20, 30, 45, and then continuing 45 J/cm2 up to 20 days, from Monday to Friday for 4 weeks. Before and after UVA1, biopsies from acute skin lesions were studied using reverse-transcription and RT-PCR. Results The levels of CCR-4 mRNA correlated with those of IFN-γ, both before and after UVA1 phototherapy (p < 0.05). A significant correlation was found after UVA1 between mRNA levels of IL-8 and IFN-γ (p < 0.05). After UVA1 an increase in IL-8 mRNA expression in comparison to the baseline assessment (p = 0.02) was found, while no significant difference was revealed in the expression of CCR-4 and IFN-γ mRNA. UVA1 improved both SCORAD and severity of AD (p < 0.001). SCORAD and the severity of AD did not correlate with the degree of expression of measured cytokine mRNA, neither before nor after UVA1. Conclusions CCR-4 is expressed in parallel with IFN-γ in acute skin lesions of patients with AD both before and after UVA1 phototherapy. UVA1 significantly improves SCORAD index, lessens the severity of AD and increases the expression of IL-8, with no direct effects on other studied molecules.