Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Can Bypass Impaired Epidermal Barriers upon <i>Ex Vivo</i> Infection of Skin from Atopic Dermatitis Patients
Maureen Möckel, Nydia C. De La Cruz, Matthias Rübsam, Lisa Wirtz, Iliana Tantcheva‐Poór, Wolfram Malter, Max Zinser, Thomas Bieber, Dagmar Knebel-Mörsdorf
Abstract
Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) can target skin to establish primary infection in the epithelium. While the human skin provides effective barriers against viral invasion under healthy conditions, a prominent example of successful invasion is the disseminated HSV-1 infection in the skin of atopic dermatitis (AD) patients. AD is characterized by impaired epidermal barrier functions, chronic inflammation, and dysbiosis of skin microbiota. We addressed the initial invasion process of HSV-1 in atopic dermatitis skin to understand whether the physical barrier functions are sufficiently disturbed to allow the virus to invade skin and reach its receptors on skin cells. Our results demonstrate that HSV-1 can indeed penetrate and initiate infection in atopic dermatitis skin. Since treatment of skin with IL-4 and IL-13 already resulted in successful invasion, we assume that inflammation-induced barrier defects play an important role for the facilitated access of HSV-1 to its target cells.