A new piece of an old puzzle: lack of association between C-Rel (rs13031237-rs842647) single nucleotide polymorphisms and non-segmental vitiligo

• Main Authors: Eman Salah, Alshymaa A. Ahmed
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2018-06-01
• Series: Biomedical Dermatology
• Subjects: Melanocytes; Depigmentation; Autoimmune; T-regulatory cells; FOXP3
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41702-018-0027-6

Abstract Background The exact pathogenesis of vitiligo is still unclear; however, studies mostly support autoimmune mechanisms including altered T-regulatory cells and FOXP3. C-Rel is a NF-κB family member affecting the normal development of FOXP3+ regulatory T cells. Methods The aim was to examine the association between 2 C-Rel gene polymorphisms (rs13031237 and rs842647) and non-segmental vitiligo patients. Genomic DNA was isolated from blood samples of 100 patients plus 100 controls for genotyping using restriction fragment length polymorphism and DNA sequencing analyses. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS program version 21 (IBM Corp., Chicago, IL, USA). Results The genotype frequencies did not differ significantly from non-segmental vitiligo patients to controls for both alleles. Conclusions C-Rel (rs13031237 and rs842647) polymorphisms are not associated with increased risk for non-segmental vitiligo. We recommend testing additional mutations in vitiligo patients from different populations to unravel Rel aspects among different autoimmune disorders.