eISSN: 2299-0046
ISSN: 1642-395X
Advances in Dermatology and Allergology/Postępy Dermatologii i Alergologii
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SCImago Journal & Country Rank
4/2022
vol. 39
 
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abstract:
Original paper

Assessment of stem cell factor expression and its c-KIT receptor in patients with vitiligo

Dorota Wilamowska-Kokoszko
1
,
Karolina Łukasik
2
,
Jacek C. Szepietowski
3
,
Dariusz J. Skarżyński
2
,
Agnieszka Owczarczyk-Saczonek
1
,
Justyna Hlebowicz-Skrodzka
4
,
Waldemar J. Placek
1

  1. Department of Dermatology, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Clinical Immunology, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland
  2. Department of Reproductive Immunology and Pathology, Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Olsztyn, Poland
  3. Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
  4. Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
Adv Dermatol Allergol 2022; XXXIX (4): 762-767
Online publish date: 2021/10/22
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Introduction
Melanocytes show antigen expressions characteristic for the immune response effector cells, and the immune reactions in the skin, especially those with inflammation background, significantly affect the function of melanocytes. Among the cytokines produced by keratinocytes, the stem cell factor (SCF) plays a leading role in stimulating melanogenesis.

Aim: To compare the expression level of stem cell factor (mSCF, pSCF) and the c-Kit receptor in the centre of the vitiligo patch and in the area of healthy skin adjacent to the vitiligo patch.

Material and methods
The research material consisted of skin samples from a vitiligo lesion and from non-lesional skin adjacent to the vitiligo patch. Real Time PCR analysis (Applied Biosystems 7900HT) was performed to determine the expression level of the studied genes.

Results
The studies showed a statistically significant increase in the amount of mSCF within the vitiligo patch compared to both healthy skin of patients with vitiligo and controls. In patients with vitiligo, c-Kit receptor expression was significantly decreased in the area of the lesional skin compared to the healthy skin of the same patient and the skin of the control group.

Conclusions
The membrane-bound form of the SCF is overexpressed within the vitiligo skin, which may indicate the participation of mSCF in the stimulation of melanogenesis in response to melanocyte damage. Decreased expression of C-Kit receptor by melanocytes in the vitiligo patch disrupts the ligand-receptor interaction and may therefore be related to melanocytes dysfunction and/or loss.

keywords:

vitiligo, stem cell factor, c-Kit receptor

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