Deletion of the late cornified envelope genes LCE3B and LCE3C may promote chronic hand eczema with allergic contact dermatitis.

BACKGROUND

Genetically determined defects in epidermal skin barrier function may contribute to the development of irritant and/or allergic contact dermatitis in chronic hand eczema (CHE).

OBJECTIVES

To assess whether a deletion in the late cornified envelope genes LCE3B and LCE3C may constitute a genetic predisposition for the development of CHE or any of its subtypes.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 153 German patients with clearly defined CHE subtypes and 268 healthy individuals were screened for the deletion LCE3C_LCE3B-del by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction.

RESULTS

Classification of the patients by etiologic subtypes revealed an association between the LCE3C_LCE3B-del allele and CHE due to allergic contact dermatitis. In this subtype, 19/37 patients (51.4%) were homozygous deletion carriers, 11/37 (29.7%) were heterozygous carriers, and just 7/37 (18.9%) were wild-type individuals. Compared to the other CHE subgroups and the healthy control group (homozygous, 88/268 [32.83%]; heterozygous, 133/268 [49.63%]; and wild-type, 47/268 [17.54%]), the prevalence of LCE3C_LCE3B-del in these patients reached statistical significance (P = .03977), as did homozygous deletion carrier status (P = .01044 for other subtypes and P = .02695 for controls).

CONCLUSIONS

A deletion of LCE genes may promote the development of allergic contact dermatitis, which is a form of CHE involving delayed-type hypersensitivity.