Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease associated with increased susceptibility to bacterial infection. The possibility of this susceptibility arising from altered expression of the defensin gene family, which encodes proteins involved in the innate immune response, was addressed in a Korean population by scientists at the Seoul National University. Genotypic analysis of 27 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the defensin A (DEFA4, 5 and 6) and defensin B1 (DEFB1) genes was performed in atopic dermatitis (AD) patients (n = 631) and normal controls (n = 458), and aimed to evaluate any associations between SNPs and haplotypes in these genes. The study identified two SNPs, namely rs5743399 (-2266T/C) and ...