Background/Objectives: Cutaneous warts (CW), or verrucae, are benign prolifera- tion of skin that result from infection with human papilloma viruses. Cellular immune reactivity plays a significant role in wart regression. The aim of this study was to elucidate the cellular immune status of patients with CW through measure- ments of their serum levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) and macrophage migration inhi- bitory factor (MIF,) and, identify the possible role of IL-17 and MIF in CW. We assessed serum IL-17 and MIF levels in patients with different forms of CW and compare the results with controls.
Patient and methods: Serum levels of IL-17 and MIF were measured using com- mercially available ELISA assay kits in 60 patients with CW and 20 healthy controls. Results: Serum levels of IL-17 and MIF were significantly lower in patients with CW when compared with the controls (P-value <.01, <.05, respectively). There was nonsignificant correlation between IL-17 and MIF.
Conclusion: Low IL-17 and MIF levels may have a contributory role in occurrence, maintenance, severity, and recurrence of different types of CW which depend mainly on the defect of cell-mediated immunity. This may shed new light on nontra- ditional strategies for the future medical treatments of CW through regulation of IL-17 and MIF.