Effects of tacrolimus in treating vitiligo on the secretion of local chemokine

Abstract

Objective To analyze the abnormalities of local chemokines in patients with vitiligo and to explore the effect of tacrolimus on the secretion of chemokines in keratinocytes. Methods Blister fluids of 50 patients with vitiligo were collected, including lesion areas and normal areas. Luminex was used to analyze the concentration of local chemokines in patients with vitiligo to determine whether the chemokines were closely related to vitiligo. The effect of tacrolimus on chemokine secretion of was analyzed by Western blot in HaCaT cells. Results By Luminex analysis of blister fluid, it was found that CXCL9 and CXCL10 were significantly higher in the leukoplakia of vitiligo, and there was a significant difference, compared with the blister fluid in the normal site (P<0.01). IFN-γ significantly stimulated the keratinocyte cell line HaCat to express CXCL9 and CXCL10. After pretreatment of HaCaT cells with 20 mg tacrolimus, the expression of CXCL9 and CXCL10 was significantly decreased, compared with the blank control (P<0.01). Conclusions The leukoplakia chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL10 are highly expressed in vitiligo patients. The tacrolimus can significantly reduce the expression of CXCL9 and CXCL10 in keratinocytes under stress, and it therefore plays a therapeutic role in vitiligo. Key words: Vitiligo; Tacrolimus; Chemokine CXCL9; Chemokine CXCL10; HaCaT cells