Serum Level of Interleukin 17 in Alopecia Areata Patients and Its Relation with the Severity of the Disease: a Case Control Study

Abstract

Abstract Background Alopecia Areata (AA) is one of the most common autoimmune diseases that’s characterized by hair loss on the scalp and/or body. It is an organ-specific autoimmune disease characterized by T-cell infiltrates and cytokine production. T-helper 17 (Th17) cells are crucially involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. Objectives Our aim was to compare the serum level of interleukin-17 (IL-17) between alopecia areata patients and healthy controls to demonstrate its proposed role in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata and to correlate it with the severity of the disease. Subjects and methods The serum concentration of IL-17 was measured in 26 patients with AA and 26 healthy controls. The clinical type of AA was determined, and the severity of scalp hair loss was assessed in accordance with the Alopecia Areata Investigational Assessment Guideline criteria. Results The serum concentration of IL-17 was significantly higher in patients with AA as compared with healthy. The IL-17 concentration among cases ranged from 133.38 – 325.99 pg/ml with a median of 195.38, while among controls, the IL-17 concentration ranged from 13.59 – 225.73 pg/ml with a median of 48.42. No statistically significant difference was found in IL-17 levels regarding age, sex, clinical type, duration of disease or severity. Conclusion The significantly higher levels of serum IL-17 in patients with AA suggest a possible role of IL-17 as a proinflammatory cytokine in the pathogenesis of AA. This could point to the potential benefit of IL-17 inhibitors in recalcitrant cases of alopecia areata.