Survivin as a Novel Biomarker in the Pathogenesis of Acne Vulgaris and Its Correlation to Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I

Survivin, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family, has an important role in cell cycle regulation. Insulin-like
growth factor-I (IGF-I) is a polypeptide hormone with wide range of biologic effects including stimulation of lipogenesis in
sebaceous glands. Their overexpression in some fibrotic disorders suggests a possible implication of both IGF-I and survivin in the
pathogenesis of acne and/or acne scars.The current study aimed to assess and correlate serum levels of IGF-I and survivin in patients
with active acne vulgaris and postinflammatory acne scars and to evaluate their lesional expressions in comparison to healthy
controls. Serum IGF-I and survivin were estimated using commercially available ELISA kits and their tissues expressions were
investigated using Western blotting. Our findings suggest that IGF-I and survivin could play potential roles in the pathogenesis of
active acne vulgaris and more importantly in postinflammatory acne scars with significant positive correlation coefficient between
serum levels of IGF-I and survivin which support IGF-I-/PI3K-/AKT-mediated downregulation of nuclear expression of FoxO
transcription factors resulting in enhanced survivin expression.