The following is a summary of “Skin Tape Stripping Reveals Distinct Biomarker Profiles in Chronic Hand Eczema of Patients With and Without Comorbid Atopic Dermatitis,” published in the January 2025 issue of Allergy and Immunology by Bar et al. 

Chronic hand eczema (CHE) is a common inflammatory condition resistant to treatment. Tape stripping with RNA sequencing provides a minimally invasive method to explore its pathogenesis. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to explore the pathogenesis of CHE using tape stripping and RNA sequencing. 

They collected tape strip samples from lesional and non-lesional skin of 66 patients with moderate-to-severe CHE, including 33 with and 33 without comorbid atopic dermatitis (AD). Bulk RNA sequencing was performed, and results were compared to samples from palmar skin of age/race/sex-matched healthy controls. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified with a fold change >1.5 and false discovery rate <0.05, then correlated with clinical severity scores, including the hand eczema severity index (HECSI) and modified total lesion symptoms score (mTLSS). 

The results showed a common phenotype in CHE lesions, with increased type-1 (IL12RB2, IFNGR1, IFNGR2, MX1) and type-2 (CCL22, CCL24, OX40, TSLPR, GATA3) inflammatory mediators, alongside reduced epidermal barrier markers (FLG, LORICRIN). Non-lesional skin displayed milder dysregulation and reduced type-17 pathways. CHE lesions without AD showed a stronger type-1 skew (IL15RA, CXCL9), while patients with AD had a dominant type-2 pattern (IL13, CCL17), with gene expression closely tied to clinical severity. 

Investigators concluded that tape stripping identified immune and skin barrier abnormalities in CHE, with stronger correlations in patients with AD indicating a more homogenous phenotype. 

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/all.16466