Gene expression signatures were examined in epidermal cells of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) and psoriasis. Carbonic anhydrase II (CAII) was highly induced in all types of eczema but not psoriasis. The neuron-specific Nel-like protein 2 was strongly induced only in AD epidermis. IL-IF9, elafin, beta-defensin-2 and vanin-3 were strongly induced in psoriasis but not in eczema. Epidermal cells in ACD patients contained high levels of CCL17 and CXCL10, and CXCL8 was highly expressed in psoriasis, AD and ACD but not in ICD. Seven sets of genes, CAII, NELL2, hBD-2, IL-IF9, CXCL8, CXCL10 and CCL17, were strongly predictive of dermal inflammation (Kamsteeg, M. et al. ...