Macrophage migration inhibitory factor as an incriminating agent in vitiligo

Abstract

BackgroundVitiligo is an autoimmune skin disorder in which the loss of melanocytes is mainly attributed to defective autoimmune mechanisms and, lately, there has been more emphasis on autoinflammatory mediators. Among these is the macrophage migration inhibitory factor, which is involved in many autoimmune skin diseases. However, little is known about the contribution of this factor to vitiligo vulgaris.ObjectiveTo determine the hypothesized role of migration inhibitory factor in vitiligo via estimation of serum migration inhibitory factor levels and migration inhibitory factor mRNA concentrations in patients with vitiligo compared with healthy controls. We also aimed to assess whether there is a relationship between the values of serum migration inhibitory factor and/or migration inhibitory factor mRNA with disease duration, clinical type and severity in vitiligo patients.MethodsEvaluation of migration inhibitory factor serum level and migration inhibitory factor mRNA expression by ELISA and real-time PCR, respectively, were performed for 50 patients with different degrees of vitiligo severity and compared to 15 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers as controls.ResultsThere was a highly significant increase in serum migration inhibitory factor and migration inhibitory factor mRNA levels in vitiligo cases when compared to controls (p<0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between both serum migration inhibitory factor and migration inhibitory factor mRNA concentrations in vitiligo patients, and each of them with duration and severity of vitiligo. In addition, patients with generalized vitiligo have significantly elevated serum migration inhibitory factor and mRNA levels than control subjects.Study limitationsSmall number of investigated subjects.ConclusionsMigration inhibitory factor may have an active role in the development of vitiligo, and it may also be a useful index of disease severity. Consequently, migration inhibitory factor may be a new treatment target for vitiligo patients.

The Clinical Significance of MIF Serum-Level as an Early Predictive Marker of Cardiovascular Risk in Patients with Vitiligo

“…MIF is a proinflammatory cytokine with a role not fully understood in vitiligo; however, it is known that its deletion or neutralization severely impairs the pro-inflammatory cytokine production, such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-23, and IL-17, [17,18,43] all of which are important in the pathogenesis of vitiligo. In the present study, we observed that MIF serum levels were higher in patients with vitiligo than in CS, in agreement with the only three reports, to our knowledge, published to date on this issue [44][45][46]. However, unlike these authors, we did not find statistically significant differences in our population.…”

“…Farag works, [44,46] but not by Serarslan [45] Regarding this, the pleiotropic immunologic and endocrine activities exerted by MIF suggest that its actions may be connected with complex signal transduction pathways. MIF has been associated with the pathogenesis of several chronic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, [47] colitis, [48] types 1 and 2 Diabetes Mellitus, [49] chronic respiratory diseases [50,51], and cancer [52,53].…”

Targeting Innate Immunity to Combat Cutaneous Stress: The Vitiligo Perspective

“…The contribution of inflammatory DCs (CD11c + CD11b + ) has been demonstrated in DAMP-induced animal model of vitiligo driven by HSP70 (21), however their role in human disease remains to be proven. Studies dating over 10 years ago have demonstrated a positive correlation between levels of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in the blood of vitiligo patients and their disease duration suggesting MIF may be a useful serum biomarker of vitiligo activity (38)(39)(40), however direct contribution of macrophages to the disease in the skin is unknown.…”

Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor in Vitiligo: Pathogenesis and Potential Therapeutic Aspects

“…MIF is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that has been connected to the development of vitiligo [4]. It has been shown to play a role in a number of immunological and autoimmune diseases.…”

“…The innate immune response and subsequently, adaptive immunity are triggered by inherent abnormalities in melanocytes and keratinocytes which induce the immunopathogenesis of vitiligo [1]. The proinflammatory cytokine Macrophage migration inhibitory factor has recently been linked to an increased incidence of vitiligo (MIF) [4]. It has been shown to play a role in a number of immunological and autoimmune diseases.…”