Background: TWEAK/Fn14 is expressed in many tissues including the skin, playing
an important role in many inflammatory, autoimmune, and neoplastic cutaneous
disorders.
Aims: To assess the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis
(TWEAK) in vitiligo patients.
Methods: This case-control study included 100 subjects (50 vitiligo patients and 50
control subjects) recruited from Dermatology Outpatient Clinic, Benha University. All
patients were subjected to complete cutaneous examination, to evaluate the clinical
type, distribution and severity of vitiligo using the Vitiligo Area Scoring Index (VASI).
Results: TWEAK serum levels were significantly higher in patients than in the control
subjects (644.76 ± 688.93 vs 282.75 ± 125.67, respectively). Serum levels were
significantly elevated in segmental versus nonsegmental vitiligo. Receiver operating
characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that TWEAK shows 80% sensitivity and
56.67% specificity in diagnosing vitiligo and 100% sensitivity and 80.09% specificity
in differentiating segmental from nonsegmental vitiligo.
Conclusion: TWEAK may play a role in vitiligo pathogenesis. It may be used in the differentiation
between segmental and nonsegmental vitiligo and represent a promising
therapeutic target in vitiligo.