Nuclear hormone receptors (NHR) act as transcription factors by directly binding to DNA and initiating the transcription of genes. They play an important role in tissue homeostasis by modulating critical cell functions such as metabolism, proliferation, differentiation, cell death and inflammation. This study was designed to determine patterns of NHR expression in skin under physiologic and pathologic conditions. The results reveal a specific expression pattern in normal skin as well as disease specific expression patterns for psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. While the increase in PPAR? in psoriatic skin has been independently replicated, the significance of the changes in other NHRs requires independent confirmation. In conclusion, these expression patterns may reflect transcriptional NHR circuits in skin that are amenable to therapeutic targeting, and the knowledge of specific NHR patterns in diseased skin might be useful in the diagnosis of cases with an uncertain clinical phenotype.