Assessment of ADAM17 and ADAM10 proteins with CXCL10 and thyroid autoimmunity in vitiligo pathogenesis

Abstract

Introduction Vitiligo is an acquired chronic pigmentation disorder. The etiopathogenesis is still not fully understood. Aim To research the correlation of ADAM proteins, shown to be associated with autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus erythematosus, with vitiligo also considered to be an autoimmune disease. Material and methods The study included a patient group of 45 patients with the diagnosis of vitiligo and a control group of 45 healthy adults. The ADAM10 and ADAM17 protein serum levels and CXCL10 and thyroid autoantibody anti-TG and anti-TPO levels along with FT3, FT4, and TSH hormone levels were determined with the ELISA method. Statistical analysis of results was made with the SPSS 22.0 program. Results In vitiligo patients, the ADAM10 levels (2.34 ±0.80 pg/ml) were statistically significantly low compared to the control group (10.29 ±1.71 pg/ml) ( p < 0.05), while the ADAM17 levels (128.51 ±14.37 pg/ml) were statistically significantly high compared to the control group (16.30 ±6.31 pg/ml) ( p < 0.05). Additionally, the CXCL10 levels were observed to be statistically significantly higher in the patient group (275.11 ±62.36) than in the control group (107.08 ±33.12). Thyroid autoimmunity test results (anti-TG, anti-TPO, and TSH) were shown to be different to a statistically significant degree in the patient group compared to the control group ( p < 0.001, p < 0.000, p = 0.003, respectively). Statistical analyses used the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann-Whitney U test, and the independent T -test. Conclusions We obtained data that are important in terms of understanding the pathogenesis. ADAM10 and ADAM17 proteins may be new targets for future therapeutic approaches.

A meta-analysis of chemokines in vitiligo: Recruiting immune cells towards melanocytes

“…CXCL9 has been extensively studied in vitiligo (497 vitiligo patients vs 257 healthy controls), although the data have been variable (Figure 1). 4/11 studies mentioned increased CXCL9 concentration in the circulation of vitiligo patients compared to healthy controls (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23). Meta-analysis showed an overall non-significant result (P = 0.16).…”