Barrier disruption in STAT6VT transgenic mice as a potential model for atopic dermatitis skin inflammation

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a pruritic, chronic inflammatory skin disease with a lifetime prevalence of 10-20% in children and 1-3% in adults, worldwide. In the past three decades, prevalence of the disease has increased by two to three-fold in industrialized countries, with higher incidences in urban regions compared to rural regions. Mice with an activating mutation in STAT6, known as STAT6VT, constitutively express STAT6 in T-cells. Our preliminary data suggests significant differences between the STAT6VT transgenic mice from WT littermate controls treated with SLS. These findings correlate with evidence that there are abnormalities in the barrier function between these mice