Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41666125›Full record

ArticleAnnals of medicine2026

Single-cell transcriptome revealed the aberrant keratinocytes activation in antigen presentation in atopic dermatitis.

Wen-Xiang Liu, Yan Cao, Yi-Fei Chen, Yi-Fan Lu, Chun-Yu Xu, Yan-Hong Zhai, Cheng Wang, Zheng Cao

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Annals of medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Single-cell transcriptomic analysis identifies a MIF-driven keratinocyte-macrophage-Th2 axis as a key inflammatory circuit in atopic dermatitis.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2026
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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Wen-Xiang LiuDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Beijing, China.
Yan CaoDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Beijing, China.
Yi-Fei ChenDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Beijing, China.
Yi-Fan LuDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Beijing, China.
Chun-Yu XuDepartment of Gynecology Oncology, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Beijing, China.
Yan-Hong ZhaiDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Beijing, China.
Cheng WangInstitute of Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacology, Shandong Academy of Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China.
Zheng CaoDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0002-0968-1864

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAtopic dermatitis (AD), a common chronic inflammatory skin disease, has been extensively studied using single-cell genomics. However, keratinocytes, as key effector cells in AD, have underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood and require further investigation.

methodsWe integrated single-cell transcriptomic data from skin tissues of healthy controls, chronic active AD patients, spontaneously healed AD (SHAD) patients, and an ovalbumin-induced AD mouse model. The study particularly emphasized the gene expression and cellular dynamics of keratinocytes across the different groups, as well as their interactions with immune cells.

resultsCompared to healthy controls, we observed significant changes in the keratinocyte transcriptome, cellular state, and keratinocyte-immune cell ligand-receptor interactions in AD skin, particularly the marked activation of genes involved in antigen processing and presentation. Interestingly, such gene activation was not observed in keratinocytes from the ovalbumin-induced AD mouse model, despite its phenotype closely resembling human AD. Furthermore, in SHAD, we identified a recovery of both the ligand-receptor interaction patterns and antigen processing and presentation genes, accompanied by a notable shift in the transcriptome. This involved a significant downregulation of genes related to cytoplasmic transcription and oxidative phosphorylation. Notably, this pattern was not observed in the self-healing mouse model following the removal of ovalbumin stimulation.

conclusionOur results suggest that the persistent activation of antigen processing and presentation pathways in keratinocytes may be a key driver of chronic inflammation in AD. Therefore, redirecting anti-allergic therapeutic strategies from solely targeting immune cells to targeting of keratinocyte-mediated antigen presentation may offer a more effective approach. Furthermore, we raise concerns about the use of ovalbumin-induced mouse models to recapitulate human chronic AD, as the underlying mechanisms may differ significantly.

Indexed as

Antigen PresentationDermatitis, AtopicKeratinocytesTranscriptomeAnimalsDisease Models, AnimalFemaleGene Expression ProfilingHumansMaleMiceOvalbuminSingle-Cell AnalysisSingle-Cell Gene Expression AnalysisSkinOvalbuminantigen presentationAtopic dermatitisinflammationkeratinocytessingle-cell RNA sequencing

Identifiers

PMID41666125
PMCPMC12893161

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.