Prognostic markers for severity, activity, and recurrence of alopecia areata

Abstract

Background Alopecia areata (AA) is considered an autoimmune disorder caused by altered T-cell-mediated immunity. MicroRNAs (miR) are important translational regulators of genes in various tissues and biological processes involved in autoimmune responses and have been identified in autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and type I diabetes mellitus. However, little is known about their role in pathogenesis of AA. Objective To assess serum levels of miR-155 and miR-146a in patients with AA and to correlate them with different clinical variables. Patients and methods MiR-155 and miR-146a serum levels were identified by real-time PCR in 50 patients with AA and 50 healthy age-matched and sex-matched patients as controls. Disease severity in the patients was assessed by Severity of Alopecia Tool score. Results There was a statistically significant increase in serum miR-155 and miR-146a levels in patients with AA than in controls. A significant increase in serum levels of miR-155 was found in patients with active disease and recurrent lesions of AA, whereas significant increase in serum level of miR-146a was found in patients with recurrent disease only. Significant positive correlations were found between serum miR-155 and miR-146a levels and disease severity. Conclusion Serum levels of miR-155 and miR-146a seem to have an essential role in the etiopathogenesis of AA and could be markers for severity and early detection of recurrent AA. In addition, serum miR-155 could be a marker of activity in AA, whereas serum miR-146a could be a marker of multiplicity. Further understanding of the function and regulation of miR-155 and miR-146a could be of great value for the introduction of new therapeutic approaches for AA.

Keywords

• alopecia areata
• microrna-146a
• microrna-155
• severity of alopecia tool score