Association of variation in the LAMA3 gene, encoding the alpha-chain of laminin 5, with atopic dermatitis in a German case-control cohort.

Background Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder caused by complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Besides mutations in the filaggrin gene, leading to impaired skin barrier function, variation in genes encoding additional skin proteins has been suggested to contribute to disease risk. Laminin 5, playing an important role in skin integrity, is composed of three subunits encoded by the LAMA3, LAMB3 and LAMC2 genes in which biallelic mutations cause epidermolysis bullosa junctionalis. We aimed at evaluating the role of variation in the LAMA3, LAMB3 and LAMC2 genes for AD pathogenesis.