Abstract:

Objective To determine the serum levels of macrophage migration inhibition factor （MIF） and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） in patients with vitiligo, and to investigate their clinical significance. Methods The serum concentrations of MIF and TNF-α were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） and radioimmunoassay respectively in 66 patients with vitiligo and 30 healthy controls. Results The patients with vitiligo vulgaris showed a significant higher serum level of MIF and TNF-α compared with the healthy controls （（9.56 ± 1.65） vs.（5.18 ± 0.81） μg/L, （2.38 ± 0.37） vs.（1.78 ± 0.21） μg/L, both P ＜ 0.01）. There was a positive correlation between the serum level of MIF and TNF-α（r = 0.89, P ＜ 0.05）. No statistical difference was observed in the serum levels of MIF or TNF-α between the healthy controls and patients with segmental vitiligo （both P > 0.05）. The serum level of MIF was significantly higher in patients with progressive vitiligo than in those with stable vitiligo （P ＜ 0.01）. Conclusions MIF and TNF-α might play a certain role in the pathogenesis of vitiligo, and MIF may be related to the activity of vitiligo vulgaris.

Key words: TNF-α