OX40/OX40L as a Therapeutic Target in Atopic Dermatitis: A Scoping Review

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory skin disease, whose pathophysiology involves a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors that lead to dysregulated T-cell-mediated inflammatory pathways and a compromised skin barrier. Despite the recent introduction of novel targeted therapies for moderate-to-severe AD, many patients still fail to achieve or maintain treatment goals, or experience treatment-emergent adverse events, which continue to burden their disease management. Recently, the role of T cell co-stimulatory molecule OX40 and its ligand OX40L, which is mainly expressed on professional antigen-presenting cells such as dendritic cells, has attracted widespread research attention as a potential therapeutic target in T cell-mediated skin diseases. Moreover, early basic and clinical research has shown encouraging results regarding the efficacy and safety of therapies targeting the OX40-OX40L axis in moderate-to-severe AD. Therefore, herein we aim to summarize the current evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of inhibiting the OX40/OX40L signaling axis in patients with moderate-to-severe AD.