Department of Dermatology, Binzhou Medical University Hospital, Binzhou, China.
Braz J Med Biol Res. 2013 May;46(5):460-4. doi: 10.1590/S0100-879X2012007500152.
Melanocyte loss in vitiligo vulgaris is believed to be an autoimmune process. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is involved in many autoimmune skin diseases. We determined the possible role of MIF in the pathogenesis of vitiligo vulgaris, and describe the relationship between MIF expressions and disease severity and activity. Serum MIF concentrations and mRNA levels in PBMCs were measured in 44 vitiligo vulgaris patients and 32 normal controls, using ELISA and real-time RT-PCR. Skin biopsies from 15 patients and 6 controls were analyzed by real-time RT-PCR. Values are reported as median (25th-75th percentile). Serum MIF concentrations were significantly increased in patients [35.81 (10.98-43.66) ng/mL] compared to controls [7.69 (6.01-9.03) ng/mL]. MIF mRNA levels were significantly higher in PBMCs from patients [7.17 (3.59-8.87)] than controls [1.67 (1.23-2.42)]. There was also a significant difference in MIF mRNA levels in PBMCs between progressive and stable patients [7.86 (5.85-9.13) vs 4.33 (2.23-8.39)] and in serum MIF concentrations [40.47 (27.71-46.79) vs 26.80 (10.55-36.07) ng/mL]. In addition, the vitiligo area severity index scores of patients correlated positively with changes of both serum MIF concentrations (r = 0.488) and MIF mRNA levels in PBMCs (r = 0.426). MIF mRNA levels were significantly higher in lesional than in normal skin [2.43 (2.13-7.59) vs 1.18 (0.94-1.83)] and in patients in the progressive stage than in the stable stage [7.52 (2.43-8.84) vs 2.13 (1.98-2.64)]. These correlations suggest that MIF participates in the pathogenesis of vitiligo vulgaris and may be useful as an index of disease severity and activity.
白癜风患者的黑素细胞损失被认为是一种自身免疫过程。巨噬细胞移动抑制因子（MIF）参与许多自身免疫性皮肤病。我们确定了 MIF 在白癜风发病机制中的可能作用，并描述了 MIF 表达与疾病严重程度和活动之间的关系。使用 ELISA 和实时 RT-PCR 测量了 44 例白癜风患者和 32 例正常对照者的血清 MIF 浓度和 PBMCs 中的 mRNA 水平。通过实时 RT-PCR 分析了 15 例患者和 6 例对照者的皮肤活检标本。数值以中位数（25％-75％）报告。与对照组[7.69（6.01-9.03）ng/mL]相比，患者的血清 MIF 浓度[35.81（10.98-43.66）ng/mL]显著升高。患者 PBMCs 中的 MIF mRNA 水平[7.17（3.59-8.87）]明显高于对照组[1.67（1.23-2.42）]。进展期和稳定期患者之间 PBMCs 中 MIF mRNA 水平也存在显著差异[7.86（5.85-9.13）vs 4.33（2.23-8.39）]和血清 MIF 浓度[40.47（27.71-46.79）vs 26.80（10.55-36.07）ng/mL]。此外，患者的白癜风面积严重指数评分与血清 MIF 浓度的变化呈正相关（r = 0.488）和 PBMCs 中 MIF mRNA 水平的变化呈正相关（r = 0.426）。与正常皮肤相比，病变皮肤中的 MIF mRNA 水平显著升高[2.43（2.13-7.59）vs 1.18（0.94-1.83）]，进展期患者的 MIF mRNA 水平也显著高于稳定期患者[7.52（2.43-8.84）vs 2.13（1.98-2.64）]。这些相关性表明，MIF 参与了白癜风的发病机制，可能作为疾病严重程度和活动的指标。
