Frequency of autoallergy to manganese superoxide dismutase in atopic dermatitis patients: experience of three Italian dermatology centers

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronically relapsing inflammatory skin disease resulting from interaction of genetic, immunological and environmental factors(1) . IgE-mediated autoimmunity ("autoallergy") is a known pathogenetic factor. Autoallergy to human manganese superoxide dismutase (hMnSOD) in AD patients is frequent (~43% of cases, in vivo and in vitro), disease-specific (absent in psoriatic or healthy subjects), directly correlated with severity, and exclusively associated with sensitization to allergen Mala s 11 (MnSOD of Malassezia sympodialis, cutaneous saprophyte yeast increased in patients and known as esacerbating factor of AD).