Abstract / Summary
Background and Objectives: Defective resolution of inflammation may contribute to chronicity in atopic dermatitis (AD). Maresin-1 (MaR1) and Maresin-2 (MaR2) are docosahexaenoic acid-derived specialised pro-resolving mediators, and adipolin/C1q/TNF-related protein 12 (CTRP12) is an adipokine with anti-inflammatory properties; to our knowledge, none has been evaluated in the circulation of patients with AD. Materials and Methods: In this single-centre case–control study, 44 adults with AD and 44 healthy controls were enrolled. Serum MaR1, MaR2, and adipolin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and disease severity was graded with the Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index and the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI). Between-group comparisons were complemented by covariate-adjusted models (age, sex, body mass index, smoking), Spearman correlation, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, and false discovery rate control. Results: Serum adipolin (3.16 vs. 3.23 ng/mL; p = 0.211), MaR1 (140.31 vs. 141.09 ng/L; p = 0.815), and MaR2 (67.56 vs. 72.29 pg/mL; p = 0.512) did not differ between patients and controls, and the null findings persisted after adjustment (all p ≥ 0.306). None of the three biomarkers correlated with SCORAD or EASI (all p ≥ 0.389) or discriminated patients from controls (area under the ROC curve 0.459–0.578). Results were unchanged when measurements outside the assay calibration ranges (adipolin, 67.0% below; MaR1, 14.8% and MaR2, 13.6% above) were censored. Serum lactate dehydrogenase was higher in patients (217.52 vs. 183.39 U/L; q = 0.004) and correlated with SCORAD (ρ = 0.404) and EASI (ρ = 0.349). Adipolin and MaR1 were strongly correlated (ρ = 0.815), including among samples with adipolin below the calibration range (ρ = 0.640). Conclusions: Circulating MaR1, MaR2, and adipolin/CTRP12 were not altered in adults with AD and do not appear useful as standalone diagnostic or severity biomarkers, although compartmentalised cutaneous activity cannot be excluded. The adipolin–MaR1 correlation showed features of an analytical artefact and should not be interpreted biologically.