Interferon Responses in Eczema Herpeticum (ADRN-01)

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic skin disorder characterized by recurrent viral skin infections. A small subset of patients with AD suffer from disseminated viral infections, e.g., eczema herpeticum (ADEH+), after herpes simplex infection (HSV) or eczema vaccinatum (EV) after smallpox vaccination. Interferon (IFN)-g plays a critical role in the innate and acquired immune responses by activating macrophages, enhancing natural killer cell activation, and promoting T cell differentiation, as well as regulating B cell isotype switching to immunoglobulin (Ig) G2a. Recent studies have demonstrated that IFN-g generation was significantly decreased after stimulation with HSV ex vivo. The purpose of this study is to determine if deficient IFN-g induction leads to susceptibility to HSV infection in ADEH+ patients.