{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T10:09:49Z","timestamp":1776074989463,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776038400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Canine atopic dermatitis is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by pruritus and recurrent erythema, yet objective blood biomarkers for monitoring disease activity remain limited. In this study, we evaluated serum cytokine profiles and their associations with clinical severity in client-owned dogs with atopic dermatitis. A total of 143 dogs were enrolled, including 28 healthy and 115 dogs with atopic dermatitis. The atopic dermatitis group was further categorized into untreated dogs (n = 27; no systemic therapy for \u22654 weeks) and systemically treated dogs (n = 88). Serum concentrations of IFN-\u03b3, IL-10, IL-13, IL-31, and TGF-\u03b21 were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Group differences were assessed using the Kruskal\u2013Wallis test with Bonferroni-adjusted post hoc comparisons, and correlations with the pruritus visual analog scale (pVAS) and the Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index-04 (CADESI-04) were analyzed using Spearman\u2019s rank correlation. Serum IFN-\u03b3, IL-13, and IL-31 concentrations differed significantly among groups (p &lt; 0.001, p = 0.001, and p = 0.004, respectively). IFN-\u03b3 and IL-13 concentrations were lower in treated dogs than in healthy dogs and untreated dogs, whereas IL-31 concentrations were higher in dogs with atopic dermatitis than in healthy dogs, regardless of treatment status. In correlation analyses, the pVAS showed a negative correlation with IFN-\u03b3 (r = \u22120.239, p = 0.004) and a positive correlation with IL-31 (r = 0.173, p = 0.039), while CADESI-04 showed a negative correlation with IFN-\u03b3 (r = \u22120.252, p = 0.002). IL-10 and TGF-\u03b21 did not show significant differences among groups or correlations with clinical indices. These findings suggest that serum IL-31 may reflect pruritus-related immune signaling that can persist despite clinical improvement. While IFN-\u03b3 may show a weak negative correlation with clinical severity indices, its potential association with chronic dermatologic changes, such as lichenification, requires further investigation in relation to disease chronicity. Together, these results indicate that circulating cytokine profiles and clinical indices do not necessarily change in parallel and that selected cytokines may provide complementary information when interpreting disease activity in canine atopic dermatitis. These profiles should be interpreted while considering the diverse immunomodulatory mechanisms of the systemic therapy administered.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16081182","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T08:49:02Z","timestamp":1776070142000},"page":"1182","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Serum Cytokine Profiles and Their Association with Clinical Severity in Dogs with Atopic Dermatitis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Jae-Yun","family":"Ko","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Pyeonanhan Animal Hospital, Daejeon 34069, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Min-Hee","family":"Kang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Bio-Animal Health, Jangan University, Hwaseong 18331, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hee-Myung","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2351","DOI":"10.1038\/jid.2009.98","article-title":"Canine Models of Atopic Dermatitis: A Useful Tool with Untapped Potential","volume":"129","author":"Marsella","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. 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