Background: Vitiligo is a pigmentation disorder which is associated with increased expression of
inflammatory cytokines in skin and blood Interleukin-17(IL-17) is a cytokine which exerts strong
proinflammatoty activities and although considered a major mediator of tissue inflammation in several
models of inflamthatory diseases, its role in vitiligo is still under investigation. Aim: The aim of this work
was to study the role of IL-17 in the pathogenesis of vitiligo by investigating its serum level and its gene
expression in lesional skin in patients with vitiligo and compared with controls. Methods: Thirty patients
with vitiligo and fifteen controls were enrolled in the study. Serum IL-17 level was measured by enzymelinked
imrnunosorbent assay (ELISA) and its skin expression was measured by reverse transcriptasepolymerase
chain reaction (RT-PCR) in both groups. Their correlations with age, gender, disease
duration, disease activity, type of vitiligo and family history were assessed Results: A significant
increase was found in levels of both serum IL-17 and skin IL-17 mRNA expression in vitiligo patients
compared with controls (P <0.001). In vitiligo patients, there was a significant positive correlation
between serum levels of IL-17 and skin levels of IL-17 mRNA expression (r =0.978, P <0.001), and both
of them were signcantly higher in active than in stable vitiligo (P <0.001). There was a significant
positive correlation between disease duration and both IL-17 levels in serum (r = 0.413, P= 0.023) and
its expression levels in lesional skin (r = 0.370, P= 0.044). Conclusion: The increased serum levels and
skin expression levels of IL-17 in patients with vitiligo may indicate an important role of this cytokine in
the immunopathogenesis of vitiligo. |
