Alitretinoin – molecular and cellular mechanisms of action

Background Chronic hand eczema (CHE) represents an inflammatory skin disease with a high prevalence ranging from 7-12% in Western industrialized countries. It was only starting from 2008 that the first, and until now the only, systemic treatment option, i.e. oral alitretinoin was approved in several countries for severe CHE unresponsive to potent topical corticosteroids. However, as the precise mechanism of actions (MOA) of alitretinoin in CHE are so far unknown, we undertook following investigations in order to shed some light on potential underlying immunomodulatory mechanisms.