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IL12B and IL23R polymorphisms are associated with alopecia areata

Genes & Immunity volume 21, pages 203–210 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease in which activation of autoreactive T cells and inflammatory immune signals target the hair follicles autoantigens. Although cytokines are involved in regulating autoimmune inflammation, the specific involvement of these molecules in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata has been remained unsettled. Here, a possible influence of IL12B, IL17A, and IL23R variations on susceptibility to alopecia areata in Iranian patients was investigated. Genotyping of IL12B (rs3212227), IL17A (rs2275913), and IL23R (rs10889677) variants were performed by extracting genomic DNA from patients and controls. Gene expression was analyzed by real-time RT-PCR. The frequency of IL12B and IL23R gene polymorphisms is significantly higher in the patients than controls, while no significant difference was found for IL17A. Stratification of the patients with respect to age at disease onset indicated that CC genotype of IL12B (rs3212227) and AA genotype of IL23R (rs10889677) gene polymorphisms are significantly associated with late-onset alopecia areata disease. In contrast to IL17A and IL23R, IL12B gene expression levels elevated in patients to that of controls, but genotypes had no effect on levels of gene expression. Overall, our data confirmed that the IL12B and IL23R polymorphisms are associated with the risk to develop alopecia areata in our population.

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Fig. 1: Comparison of gene expression levels of IL12B, IL17A, and IL23R in patients with alopecia areata and control subjects.
Fig. 2: Stratification of the genotypes in patients based on gene expression.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Medical and Nursing staff of the Skin Research Center, Shohada Tajrish and Loghman Hakim hospitals at Tehran, Iran for helpful collaboration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Department, East Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

    Pardis-Sadat Tabatabaei-Panah, Sara Delpasand, Mona Jafari, Sanaz Sepehri & Reyhaneh Abgoon

  2. Skin Research Centre, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Hamideh Moravvej & Reza Akbarzadeh

  3. Lübeck Institute of Experimental Dermatology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany

    Ralf J. Ludwig & Reza Akbarzadeh

  4. Institute of Anatomy, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany

    Reza Akbarzadeh

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Correspondence to Reza Akbarzadeh.

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The study protocol was considered and approved by the local ethics committee (Human Research Ethics Committee of Skin Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences). The investigation conforms to the principles outlined in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki, revised in 2000.

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Tabatabaei-Panah, PS., Moravvej, H., Delpasand, S. et al. IL12B and IL23R polymorphisms are associated with alopecia areata. Genes Immun 21, 203–210 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41435-020-0100-1

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