Immune modules to guide diagnosis and personalized treatment of inflammatory skin diseases.

Abstract

Previous advances have identified immune pathways associated with inflammatory skin diseases, leading to the development of targeted therapies. However, there is a lack of molecular approaches that delineate these pathways at the individual patient level for personalized diagnostic and therapeutic guidance. Here, we conduct a cross-comparison of expression profiles from multiple inflammatory skin diseases to identify gene modules defining relevant immune pathways. Seven modules are identified, representing key immune pathways: Th17, Th2, Th1, Type I IFNs, neutrophilic, macrophagic, and eosinophilic. These modules allow the development of a molecular map with high diagnostic efficacy for inflammatory skin diseases and clinico-pathologically undetermined cases. Aligning dominant modules with treatment targets offers a rational framework for treatment selection, improving response rates in both treatment-naïve patients and non-responders to targeted therapies. Overall, our approach offers precision medicine for inflammatory skin diseases, utilizing transcriptional modules to support diagnosis and guide personalized treatment selection.