Abstract
It has long been observed that the development of asthma, allergic rhinitis and food allergy are frequently preceded by atopic dermatitis, a phenomenon known as the “atopic march”. Clinical, genetic and experimental studies have supported the fact that atopic dermatitis could be the initial step of the atopic march, leading to the subsequent development of other atopic diseases. This brief review will focus on the current evidence showing that epidermal barrier dysfunction and the keratinocyte-derived cytokine thymic stromal lymphopoietin play critical roles in the onset of the atopic march.
Footnotes
For editorial comments see page 275.
Support statement: Funding support was received from l’Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR JCJC-1106-01 and ANR-13-BSV1-0024-01), Fondation Simone et Cino del Duca - Institut de France, Société Française d’Allergologie and the Association pour la Recherche à l’ Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire. Support was also received from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) and the Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
Conflict of interest: None declared.
Provenance: Submitted article, peer reviewed.
- Received May 27, 2014.
- Accepted June 26, 2014.
- ©ERS 2014
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