Intestinal fatty acid bind protein as a biomarker for vitiligo

Background Vitiligo is an acquired depigmentary disorder characterized by destruction of melanocytes. The activity of vitiligo influences the clinical outcome and alters the choice of treatment modality. Intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP), also called FABP-2, is solely expressed in intestinal enterocytes of mammals. Objective To evaluate the serum and tissue levels of I-FABP in vitiligo patients and its relation to healthy controls. Patients and methods The present study is a case-control study that was carried out on 44 subjects subdivided into two equal groups, vitiligo, and matched controls. The clinical study was done as well and I-FABP levels in both serum and tissue were measured by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results There were significant elevations in I-FABP levels in both serum with a median of 7.16 and 5.29 (P=0.011) and in tissue with a median of 707.3 and 274.9 (P= 0.014) for vitiligo patients in comparison with controls, respectively. Positive correlation between I-FABP levels in serum and in tissue was detected (r=0.488, P=0.021). Sensitivity for diagnosis vitiligo for serum and tissue I-FABP were 77.3 and 86.36%, respectively and specificity were 54.5 and 95.5%, respectively. Conclusion I-FABP can play a vital role in vitiligo and may be a marker that helps in early diagnosis of vitiligo, but it does not appear to be useful for determining vitiligo activity, severity.