IN-VIVO RELEVANCE OF CD30 IN ATOPIC-DERMATITIS

CD30 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in lesional skin biopsies of eight patients with active atopic dermatitis (AD) and thr ee patients with allergic contact (nickel-induced) dermatitis (ACD). C D30 expression was also assessed in a large panel of CD4+ and CD8+ T-c ell clones generated from the skin biopsies of four patients with AD. Finally, the levels of soluble CD30 (sCD30) were measured in the serum of 41 patients with AD, 19 patients with ACD, and 60 healthy controls . In all specimens of lesional AD skin, where the great majority of in filtrating cells were CD4+ T cells, remarkable numbers of cells were C D30+, whereas virtually no CD30+ cells were found in the skin of patie nts with ACD. In CD4+ T-cell clones generated from the lesional AD ski n, most of which produced both interleukin (IL)-4 and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) (ThO-like cells) or IL-4 and IL-5, but not IFN-gamma (Th2 -like cells), CD30 expression directly correlated with the ability to produce IL-4 and IL-5, but was inversely related to IFN-gamma producti on. High levels of sCD30 (correlated with disease activity: r = 0.618) were detected in the serum of most AD patients, whereas there was no increase of sCD30 levels in the serum of patients with ACD. These data support the view that Th0/Th2-type responses predominate in the skin of patients with AD and suggest that the presence of CD30+ T cells in tissues and/or increased levels of sCD30 in biologic fluids are indica tive of Th2-dominated responses.