Objectives: The immunological aspects of inflammatory acne are still incompletely
understood, so the current study aims to investigate the possible role of IL-17 and 25
hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D3) in the disease pathogenesis and progression.
Materials and Methods: Across-sectional study has been conducted on 135 patients with
active acne vulgaris of various severities and 150 matched controls. ELISA assays of
serum and tissue levels of IL-17 and 25(OH) D3, also immunohistochemical and
western blotting demonstration of the expression patterns of lesional IL-17 in
comparison with control group, were done.
Results: The mean serum levels of IL-17 were 544.2 pg/ml ± 477.4 SD and 42.2
pg/ml ± 8.1 SD for acne patients and controls respectively with significant higher
levels among the patient group (p
<0.05). Higher IL-17 lesional expression levels
among patients versus the controls. The mean serum levels of 25(OH)D3 among
patients and controls were 33.3 ng/ml± 9.7SD and 51.7 ng/ml± 2.7SD respectively
with significant lower levels among the patient group (p
<0.05). There were significant
negative correlations between IL-17 and 25(OH) D3 levels (p< 0.001 for both).
Conclusions: Deficiency of vitamin D3 accompanied with higher IL-17 in an inverse
pattern may have a possible role in active acne vulgaris.