Anti-Malassezia-Specific IgE Antibodies Production in Japanese Patients with Head and Neck Atopic Dermatitis: Relationship between the Level of Specific IgE Antibody and the Colonization Frequency of Cutaneous Malassezia Species and Clinical Severity

Enshi Zhang; Takafumi Tanaka; Mami Tajima; Ryoji Tsuboi; Hiroshi Kato; Akemi Nishikawa; Takashi Sugita

doi:10.1155/2011/645670

Anti-Malassezia-Specific IgE Antibodies Production in Japanese Patients with Head and Neck Atopic Dermatitis: Relationship between the Level of Specific IgE Antibody and the Colonization Frequency of Cutaneous Malassezia Species and Clinical Severity

J Allergy (Cairo). 2011:2011:645670. doi: 10.1155/2011/645670. Epub 2011 Dec 29.

Authors

Enshi Zhang¹, Takafumi Tanaka, Mami Tajima, Ryoji Tsuboi, Hiroshi Kato, Akemi Nishikawa, Takashi Sugita

Affiliation

¹ Department of Dermatology, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan.

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis of the head and neck (HNAD) is recognized as a separate condition. Malassezia, the predominant skin microbiota fungus, is considered to exacerbate atopic dermatitis (AD), especially HNAD. In the present study, we investigated the relationships between the levels of specific IgE antibodies, colonization frequency of eight predominant Malassezia species, and clinical severity in 61 patients with HNAD (26 mild, 24 moderate, and 11 severe cases). As clinical severity increased, the levels of specific IgE antibodies against eight Malassezia species also increased. Species diversity of the Malassezia microbiota in scale samples from patients was analyzed by nested PCR using species-specific primers. The clinical severity of HNAD was correlated with the total level of specific IgE antibodies against Malassezia species and the number of Malassezia species detected.