Publication:

Association of serum interleukin 15 level with vitiligo: a cross-sectional comparative study

Background Vitiligo is a chronic autoimmune skin disorder characterized by the progressive destruction of melanocytes, leading to depigmented patches. Interleukin-15 (IL-15), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, has been implicated in the persistence of vitiligo by sustaining tissue-resident memory (TRM) T cells, which contribute to disease recurrence. Objective was to investigate the association of serum IL-15 levels with vitiligo and its severity.

Methods A total of 60 participants, including 30 vitiligo patients and 30 healthy individuals were enrolled. Serum IL-15 levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Disease severity was assessed using the vitiligo area scoring index (VASI).

Results Vitiligo patients exhibited significantly higher serum IL-15 levels (41.98±32.16 pg/ml) compared to healthy individuals (15.19±8.82 pg/ml, p 10 had the highest IL-15 levels (61.88±31.82 pg/ml, p=0.047). However, no significant correlation was observed between IL-15 levels and age (p=0.129), duration of disease (p=0.923), or age of onset (p=0.107). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated that IL-15 levels ≥15.9 pg/ml had 80.8% sensitivity and 65.4% specificity in distinguishing vitiligo patients from healthy individuals (AUC=0.772, p=0.001).

Conclusions Serum IL-15 is found to be significantly elevated in vitiligo patients and is shown to correlate with disease severity. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies and therapeutic interventions targeting IL-15 to better understand its role in vitiligo pathogenesis and treatment.