Abstract: Li Xiaowen, Lin Fuquan, Zhang Dimin, Hong Weisong, Xu Ai′e. Department of Dermatology, Third People′s Hospital of Hangzhou, Hangzhou 310009, China Corresponding author: Xu Ai′e, Email: xuaiehz@msn.com 【Abstract】 Objective To investigate the relationship between the efficacy of autologous cultured melanocyte transplantation and serum levels of interleukin-17 （IL-17） and FoxP3 in patients with vitiligo. Methods Forty patients with stable vitiligo vulgaris were included in this study, and received autologous cultured melanocyte transplantation. Six months after the transplantation, treatment efficacy was evaluated, and patients were classified into the successfully treated group （n = 25） and unsuccessfully treated group （n = 15）. Peripheral blood was collected from all the patients before the transplantation, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was performed to measure the serum levels of IL-17 and FoxP3. Statistical analysis was done using two independent samples t-test with the SPSS software （version 17.0）. Results The successfully treated patients showed lower serum levels of IL-17 （（15.29 ± 7.86） vs. （43.88 ± 13.02） ng/L, P < 0.05）, but higher serum levels of FoxP3 （（6.08 ± 2.03） vs. （3.37 ± 1.81） ng/L, P < 0.05） than the unsuccessfully treated patients. Conclusion The increased serum IL-17 and decreased serum FoxP3 may contribute to the failure of autologous cultured melanocyte transplantation in patients with vitiligo.

Key words: Vitiligo, Interleukin-17, Forhead box P3, Cell transplantation, Transplantation, autologous, Treatment outcome