Imaging-Guided Tape Stripping Standardizes Molecular Profiling in Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis
Key Takeaways
- Imaging-guided tape stripping enabled standardized, minimally invasive sampling of the stratum corneum and identified robust molecular differences between healthy skin and pediatric atopic dermatitis (AD) lesions.
- More than 1,100 differentially expressed genes distinguished healthy from AD skin, while 13 transcripts, including CXCL8/IL8, CD300A, and FPR1, correlated with disease severity or itch and largely declined after 2 weeks of topical corticosteroid therapy.
- The findings support imaging-guided tape stripping as a potential tool for monitoring disease activity and treatment response in pediatric AD, although larger validation studies are needed.
A minimally invasive, imaging-guided tape-stripping technique may provide a standardized method for molecular profiling and treatment monitoring in pediatric atopic dermatitis (AD), according to findings published online ahead of print in the Journal of Dermatological Science.¹
Researchers combined real-time imaging-guided tape stripping with RNA sequencing and cytokine profiling to characterize stratum corneum molecular signatures in 39 children with AD and 15 healthy pediatric controls. The investigators analyzed lesional and nonlesional skin at baseline and again after 2 weeks of topical corticosteroid treatment.
The imaging-guided approach verified stratum corneum sampling depth and identified more than 1,100 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between healthy and AD skin, as well as 144 DEGs between lesional and nonlesional AD skin (fold-change ≥2; false discovery rate <0.1). Lesional skin demonstrated enrichment of type 2- and type 17-associated immune pathways, tissue remodeling, and cell-cycle regulation.
Molecular Markers Track Disease Severity and Early Treatment Response
The investigators identified 13 transcripts significantly associated with clinical disease severity or pruritus, including CXCL8/IL8, CD300A, and FPR1. Most of these biomarkers declined following 2 weeks of topical corticosteroid therapy, suggesting responsiveness to treatment. However, CD300A and FCGR2B/CD32 remained elevated in a subset of children despite therapy, indicating potential residual inflammatory activity or treatment-resistant molecular signatures.
The study was limited by its relatively small cohort and short treatment duration, and longer-term studies will be needed to determine whether these molecular markers predict sustained treatment response or disease progression.
"These findings support the use of real-time imaging-guided tape stripping as a standardized, minimally invasive approach for verifying SC sampling depth and monitoring molecular changes associated with disease activity and treatment response in pediatric AD," the authors concluded.¹
References
- Andersen D, Yélamos O, Combalia M, et al. Imaging-guided tape stripping reveals consistent stratum corneum profiling of disease severity and treatment-responsive molecular features in pediatric atopic dermatitis. J Dermatol Sci. Published online July 12, 2026. doi:10.1016/j.jdermsci.2026.07.001