E-Mail karger@karger.com Original Paper Dermatology 2017;233:413–418 DOI: 10.1159/000479925 Is There a Relation between Vitamin D and Interleukin-17 in Vitiligo? A Cross-Sectional Study Dalia Aly a Faisal Mohammed a Khadiga Sayed c Heba Gawdat c Heba Mashaly c Rania Abdel Hay c Tahany Elias b Mervat Agaiby b Departments of a Dermatology and Venereology and b Medical Biochemistry, National Research Centre, Giza, and c Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt Introduction Vitiligo is a skin disease distinguished by complete but selective loss of melanocytes from the epidermis. Its main etiology is still obscure. Some theories include autoin- flammatory, autoimmune, neural, genetic, cytotoxic, and metabolic etiologies [1]. Lately, there has been a rising awareness regarding the role of the active form of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 [1,25(OH)D], in the patho- genesis of vitiligo and its impact in the treatment of this disorder [2]. The main role of vitamin D – besides bone formation and calcium metabolism – is the interplay with the im- mune system, having its receptors expressed in activated CD8+ and CD4+ T cells, B cells, dendritic cells, neutro- phils, and macrophages [3]. Low vitamin D levels have been linked to numerous autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheu- matoid arthritis, and undifferentiated connective tissue disease. Bearing in mind that vitiligo is an autoimmune disease, it could, therefore, be provoked or exacerbated by low vitamin D levels. The link between vitiligo and vita- min D levels still needs to be investigated more thorough- ly. Whether a deficit in vitamin D levels plays a role in Keywords Interleukin-17 · Nonsegmental vitiligo · Vitamin D Abstract Background: High interleukin (IL)-17 contributes to vitiligo pathogenesis. Vitamin D has been assessed in vitiligo, with no reports targeting its relation to IL-17. Objective: To eval- uate a possible regulatory effect of vitamin D on IL-17 and their relation to disease activity in vitiligo. Methods: This study included 30 vitiligo patients and 40 controls evalu- ated for IL-17 and vitamin D serum levels by ELISA tech- nique. Results: IL-17 was significantly higher (p = 0.001) whereas vitamin D was found to be lower among the pa- tients (p < 0.001). Multivariable regression was performed to evaluate the relationship between IL-17 and vitamin D levels with the demographic data on the patients, revealing a nonsignificant relationship (p > 0.05). A significant posi- tive correlation was noted between vitamin D levels and disease duration. Conclusion: Vitamin D represents a po- tential player in the pathogenesis of vitiligo. Its possible regulatory relation to IL-17, together with its weight as a screening tool in vitiligo, needs further evaluation. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel Received: March 27, 2017 Accepted after revision: July 26, 2017 Published online: September 28, 2017 Rania Abdel Hay, MD Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University 13th Abtag Othman, Kornish El Maadi Cairo 11431 (Egypt) E-Mail raniamounir @ kasralainy.edu.eg © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel www.karger.com/drm Downloaded by: 107.172.80.243 - 5/23/2019 3:02:34 PM