Abstract
Background: There is debate concerning the precise etiopathogenesis of vitiligo.
According to certain theories, a series of inflammatory responses that mediate the
loss of melanocytes are caused by both cellular and humoral immune responses. It has
also been demonstrated that Interleukin 17 (IL-17)
promotes melanocyte death and
inhibits melanogenesis through different mechanisms. Serum Amyloid A (SAA) levels
are over-expressed
in autoimmune diseases. Th17 cytokines are regulated by serum
amyloid A proteins.
Aims: To measure serum levels of IL-17
and SAA in vitiligo patients aiming to explain
their possible role in disease pathogenesis and the other aim is to correlate their levels
with disease activity and severity.
Methods: This study included 60 vitiligo patients and 40 healthy age and sex controls.
Enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay was used to measure serum levels of SAA and
IL-17.
Results: This study revealed significant increase in levels of serum IL-17
and SAA in
patients than controls (p < 0.05). Both markers showed significant positive correlations
with VASI score and duration of vitiligo; only IL-17
showed statistically significant
positive correlation with VIDA scores. Patients with vitiligo showed a statistically
significant positive connection between serum IL-17
levels and SAA (γ = 0.992, p-value