Methods for diagnosing atopic dermatitis using gene classifiers

A method for preparing nucleic acids from a skin sample useful for detecting atopic dermatitis in a human subject, comprising:

• a) isolating nucleic acids from a skin sample obtained from the subject, where the skin sample is obtained by applying an adhesive patch to the subject's skin;
• b) detecting gene expression levels of one or more target genes, comprising at least IL-31, by contacting the isolated nucleic acids with probes that recognize nucleic acids expressed by the target genes and detecting binding of the probes;
• c) identifying that expression levels of the one or more target genes are increased at least two-fold compared to a normal control sample,
• d) diagnosing the subject with the at least two-fold increase in gene expression as having atopic dermatitis;
• and
• e) administering an inhibitor of one or more of IL-13, PDE4 and IL-31 to the diagnosed subject.