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Is/are pattern recognition receptor(s) for Staphylococcus aureus defective in atopic dermatitis?

Ong PY

Division of Clinical Immunology/Allergy, Department of Pediatrics, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles/Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA. pyong@chla.usc.edu

It is known that Staphylococcus aureus induces the expression of human beta-defensin-2 (hBD-2), a well-characterized antimicrobial peptide, in keratinocytes. However, in spite of heavy colonization of atopic dermatitis (AD) skin lesions by S. aureus, these lesions have consistently been shown to contain low expression of hBD-2. The current article discusses various possible mechanisms for the low expression of hBD-2 in AD and raises the question whether the innate recognition of S. aureus by keratinocytes in AD is intact.

Published 1 December 2005 in Dermatology, 212(1): 19-22.
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