Efficacy of tacrolimus ointment for vitiligo and its effect on T cell levels

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of tacrolimus ointment for vitiligo and its effect on T cell levels. Methods: Eighty patients with vitiligo were randomly divided into the control group (n=40) and the treatment group (n=40). The control group was treated with narrow-band ultraviolet radiation, while the treatment group was treated with both 0.1% tacrolimus ointment and narrow-band ultraviolet radiation. Therapeutic efficacy was evaluated after 1-month treatment.All patients were follow-up for 12 months. The incidence of adverse reactions and recurrence rate were also assessed. In addition, circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), chemokine-9 (CXCL-9) and intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM-1) were measured by ELISA assay. Flow cytometry was used to measure CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+ cells. The lesion area, time of repigmentation, pigmentation score, levels of cytokines and inflammatory markers, and T cell levels were compared between the two groups. Results: Following 1-month treatment, patients in the treatment group displayed marked improvements in lesion area and pigmentation score, along with shorter time of repigmentation in comparison to the controls (P0.05). The 6-month and 12-month recurrence rate was lower in the treatment group than in the controls (P<0.01). Moreover, the circulating levels of IL-6, TNF-α, CXCL-9 and ICAM-1 were lower in the treatment group than in the controls (P<0.05 for all). Additionally, the ratios of CD3+, CD4+ and CD4+ to CD8+ T cells were higher (P<0.05), while proportion of CD8+ T cells was lower in the treatment group than in the controls. Conclusions: Tacrolimus ointment can improve vitiligo and lower levels of circulating cytokines, while improving the balance of circulating T cells, with lower recurrence rate.

Keywords

• tacrolimus ointment
• medium wave ultraviolet light
• vitiligo
• t lymphocyte levels
• cytokines