Therapeutic potential of AMPs in atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common, inflammatory and itchy skin condition that can affect children and adults. Patients with AD have an excessive build-up of Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium that lives on the skin. In addition, AD is linked to abnormal levels of antimicrobial peptides (AMP), i.e. small proteins, in the skin. AMPs usually maintain a healthy balance of the skin`s microbiome and fight pathogenic microbes living or invading the skin. AMPs are produced by the skin, but also by many microbes. For the first time, we want to create a database of all AMPs that the skin`s microbiome or the skin cells themselves produce. We will then examine selected AMPs from this database as therapeutics to neutralize pathogenic microbes and reduce symptoms of AD. This international research project, which is jointly funded by the Austrian FWF and the French funding organization ANR, empowers both clinical and basic research to develop novel therapeutics for the treatment of AD, other inflammatory skin diseases and even certain types of cancer.