Effect of tacrolimus on the serum levels of CXCL9 and CXCL10 in patients with vitiligo

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of tacrolimus on the serum levels of CXC chemokine ligand 9(CXCL9) and CXC chemokine ligand 10(CXCL10) in patients with vitiligo.

MethodsTwo hundred and forty patients with vitiligo were divided into the control group(n=120) and observation group(n=120) according to the random number table method.The control group was treated with routine treatment, while the observation group was additionally treated with tacrolimus on the basis of routine treatment for 2 months.The therapeutic effects between two groups were compared.The serum levels of CXCL9, CXCL10 and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in two groups were measured before treatment and after 2 months of treatment.The correlations between serum levels of CXCL9 and CXCL10, and TNF-α were analyzed using Pearson linear correlation analysis.The adverse reactions in two groups were recorded.

ResultsThe total effective rate in observation group was higher than that in control group(P < 0.05).After treatment, the serum levels of CXCL9, CXCL10 and TNF-α in two groups were significantly lower than those before treatment, and which in observation group was significantly lower than that in control group(P < 0.01).The results of Pearson linear correlation analysis showed that the serum levels of CXCL9 and CXCL10 were positively correlated with TNF-α(r=0.713, 0.672, P < 0.01).The differences of the incidence rates of burning, erythema, rash and pruritus between two groups were not statistically significant(P>0.05).

ConclusionsCompared with conventional therapy alone, tacrolimus can further reduce the serum levels of CXCL9 and CXCL10 in patients with vitiligo, which may be an important mechanism in improving clinical efficacy, and both of them are positively correlated with TNF-α.