**Meet the editors**

Jorge Esparza-Gordillo obtained a BSc in Biology with specialty in Genetics at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, followed by a PhD on Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the Center of Biological Research, Madrid, Spain. While preparing his PhD, he was involved in different research projects aiming to dissect the genetic and physiological basis of different autoim-

mune, thrombotic and metabolic human disorders. During this period, he gained knowledge of the immune system and the physiopathological mechanisms underlying complex disorders. Dr Esparza-Gordillo worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the "Max-Delbruck Center for molecular medicine" and at the "Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin" (Germany), where he was involved in research aiming to characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying Atopic Dermatitis and Asthma through genetic studies and analysis of data from population-based longitudinal cohorts.

Dr Itaru Dekio received his MD from Keio University, Japan, in 1999. Following a clinical career in the field of dermatology, he started his research work on the microbiota (microbiome) on the skin in 2003, as a joint project of Keio University (21st Century COE Programme for Life Sciences) and RIKEN Japan Collection of Microorganisms, and in 2006, obtained his PhD based on this

work. Dr Dekio is a board-certified dermatologist of Japanese Dermatological Association and an associate professor and lecturer of dermatology at Shimane University, Japan. He is currently on a sabbatical year as a visiting researcher at the Health Protection Agency, London. His clinical specialties are atopic dermatitis and skin infections and his 2005 publication is one of the earliest works that characterize the skin microbiota using a molecular profiling method.

Contents

**Preface IX** 

**Part 1 Disease Etiology 1** 

Chapter 1 **Flaky Tail Mouse as a Novel Animal** 

**Model of Atopic Dermatitis: Possible Roles** 

Catharina Sagita Moniaga and Kenji Kabashima

Hiromichi Yonekawa, Toyoyuki Takada,

Kunie Matsuoka and Yoshiaki Kikkawa

**Pathogenesis of Atopic Dermatitis 39**  Kenji Izuhara, Hiroshi Shiraishi, Shoichiro Ohta,

Chapter 3 **The Roles of Th2-Type Cytokines in the** 

Chapter 4 **Epidermal Serine Proteases and Their** 

Ulf Meyer-Hoffert

Itaru Dekio

Kazuhiko Arima and Shoichi Suzuki

**Inhibitors in Atopic Dermatitis 51** 

Chapter 5 **The Role of Prostanoids in Atopic Dermatitis 65**  Tetsuya Honda and Kenji Kabashima

> Susanne Stutte, Nancy Gerbitzki, Natalija Novak and Irmgard Förster

**Part 2 Microrganisms in Atopic Dermatits 105** 

Chapter 7 **Microorganisms and Atopic Dermatitis 107** 

Chapter 6 **Expression and Function of CCL17 in Atopic Dermatitis 81** 

Chapter 2 **Mouse Models for Atopic Dermatitis Developed in Japan 21** 

Hiroshi Shitara, Choji Taya, Yoshibumi Matsushima,

**of Filaggrin in the Development of Atopic Dermatitis 3** 
