Serum interleukin-22 and C-reactive protein in patients with vitiligo: a case–control study on 35 Egyptian patients

Abstract

Background Vitiligo is a chronic depigmentary skin disorder caused by destruction of epidermal melanocytes. Various cytokines play an important role in its pathogenesis. Interleukin-22 (IL-22) is one of the cytokines produced by multiple immune cells such as lymphocytes and natural killer cells. It has a role in the proinflammatory process, and also it can induce production of C-reactive protein (CRP). The role of IL-22 has been studied and evaluated in many chronic inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel diseases.Aim This study was planned to study the effect of serum IL-22 and CRP in patients with vitiligo and to correlate their level with the severity of the disease using vitiligo area severity index, vitiligo extent score, and vitiligo disease activity score.Patients and methods A prospective case–control study was conducted on 35 patients with vitiligo and 35 age-matched and sex-matched healthy volunteers. Both disease severity and disease activity were estimated using vitiligo area severity index and vitiligo disease activity score, respectively. All participants were subjected to measurement of serum IL-22 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique and measurement of serum CRP level by rate nephelometry.Results We found that the most common type of vitiligo was the generalized type (88.6%), followed by segmental vitiligo (5.7%) and focal vitiligo (5.7%). We found that both IL-22 and CRP are significantly higher in patients with vitiligo compared with healthy participants (P=0.001), with a positive correlation with the disease activity.Conclusion Both IL-22 and CRP have a role in vitiligo pathogenesis as their presence intensifies the severity of the disease. They could be considered useful tools for evaluating the disease activity.