Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Department of Dermatology and Venereology, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt.
Clin Exp Dermatol. 2020 Jun;45(4):426-431. doi: 10.1111/ced.14118. Epub 2019 Nov 12.
Alopecia areata (AA) is, an organ-specific autoimmune disease, characterized by an aberrant expression of cytokines of the T helper 1 type. Tumour necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) is a multifactorial cytokine that exerts a role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, especially in cutaneous diseases.
To estimate the serum level of TWEAK in AA and to correlate it with different parameters.
This case-control study enrolled 40 patients with AA and 50 clinically healthy volunteers matched for age and sex. A blood sample (5 mL) was extracted from each participant for analysis of serum TWEAK levels by ELISA.
Levels of TWEAK were significantly higher in patients with AA (mean ± SD 213.7 ± 59.2 pg/mL, range 109.1-341.6 pg/mL) than in controls (95.97 ± 13.28 pg/mL, range 80.1-152.3 pg/mL) (P < 0.001). A significant positive correlation was found between serum TWEAK level and the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score (r = 0.56, P < 0.001).
To our knowledge, this study highlights for the first time a possible link between higher serum TWEAK level and AA. Serum TWEAK level appears to reflect AA disease severity.
斑秃（AA）是一种器官特异性自身免疫性疾病，其特征是辅助性 T 细胞 1 型细胞因子表达异常。肿瘤坏死因子样凋亡弱诱导剂（TWEAK）是一种多效细胞因子，在炎症和自身免疫性疾病的发病机制中发挥作用，尤其是在皮肤疾病中。
评估 AA 患者血清 TWEAK 水平，并与不同参数相关联。
这项病例对照研究纳入了 40 名 AA 患者和 50 名年龄和性别相匹配的临床健康志愿者。从每位参与者中抽取 5ml 血液样本，通过 ELISA 分析血清 TWEAK 水平。
AA 患者的 TWEAK 水平明显高于对照组（平均值 ± 标准差 213.7 ± 59.2pg/ml，范围 109.1-341.6pg/ml 与 95.97 ± 13.28pg/ml，范围 80.1-152.3pg/ml）（P<0.001）。血清 TWEAK 水平与脱发严重程度评估工具（SALT）评分之间存在显著正相关（r=0.56，P<0.001）。
据我们所知，这项研究首次强调了较高的血清 TWEAK 水平与 AA 之间可能存在联系。血清 TWEAK 水平似乎反映了 AA 疾病的严重程度。
