Methods for diagnosing and managing treatment of atopic dermatitis

A method of diagnosing and treating a subject suffering from atopic dermatitis (AD), the method comprising:

• (a) obtaining a skin biopsy from a subject suspected of suffering from AD;
• (b) determining a level of RNA expression in the skin biopsy of a plurality of genes comprising SERPINB4, AKR1B10, SERPINB3, S100A7, DEFB4A, RRM2, CCL18, PI3, COL6A6, KRT16, CCL22, NCAPG, TMPRSS4, KRT6, SELE, GALNT6, PGF, CCL17, APOBEC3A, CBLC, CD1B, IGL, CDSN, BTC, Clorf46, Clorf68, ASPRV1, PSOR1C2, IL1F7, POF1B, LOR, SLURP1, MSMB, CST6, ELMODJ, FABP7, CARD18, CTSL2, GREM1, GPLD1, HBA, ARG1, ANXA9, DKK2, KLK5, LYVE1, PSG7, AQP9, CPA3, GPD1, HSD11B1, ARHGAP18, EREG, CLDN23, FLG, SCEL, and CHP2;
• (c) comparing said determined level of RNA expression of the plurality of genes to the level of expression of the plurality of genes in a reference sample comprising RNA expression products from normal healthy skin cells;
• (d) diagnosing the subject as suffering from AD when SERPINB4, AKR1B10, SERPINB3, S100A7, DEFB4A, RR1112, CCL18, PI3, COL6A6, KRT16, CCL22, NCAPG, TMPRSS4, KRT6, SELE, GALNT6, PGF, CCL17, APOBEC3A, CBLC, CD1B, and IGL are up-regulated compared to the reference sample and when CDSN, BTC, Clorf46, Clorf68, ASPRV1, PSOR1C2, IL1F7, POF1B, LOR, SLURP1, MSMB, CST6, ELMOD1, FABP7, CARD18, CTSL2, GREM1, GPLD1, HBA, ARG1, ANXA9, DKK2, KLK5, LYVE1, PSG7, AQP9, CPA3, GPD1, HSD11B1, IGJ, ARHGAP18, EREG, CLDN23, FLG, SCEL, and CHP2 are down-regulated compared to the reference sample;
• and
• (e) treating the diagnosed subject with one or more therapeutic agents selected from the group consisting of corticosteroids, betamethasone, tacrolimus, pimecrolimus, narrow-band UVB, PDE4 inhibitors, tofacitinib, dupilumab, and nemolizumab.