Expression of a human SOCS protein, HSOCP-1, in peripheral blood eosinophils from patients with atopic dermatitis.

To identify new genes related to atopic dermatitis (AD), we screened for differentially expressed genes in peripheral blood eosinophils derived from AD patients and healthy volunteers. RNA was prepared from peripheral blood eosinophils obtained from both AD patients and healthy volunteers, and the expression of various genes was monitored using fluorescent differential display and real-time RT-PCR. One of the expressed sequence tags (ESTs) was expressed at a significantly higher level in AD patients than in healthy volunteers.