Objective: Vitiligo is a common systemic, idiopathic autoimmune disease. The aim of this study was to analyze the frequency of variants of the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene (50 bp Ins/Del, rs4817415, rs2070424, rs1041740, rs17880135) and circulating plasma protein levels through in-silico analysis.
Patients and methods: Blood samples were collected from adult patients of both sexes with a clinical diagnosis of vitiligo. ELISA tests for SOD and analysis of gene variants by qPCR were compared to a disease-free reference group.
Results: The population analyzed was young people between 29 and 37 years old, with a higher percentage of women. The population was found in the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). The 50 bp Ins/Del, rs4817415, and rs2070424 variants showed no significant difference between groups (p > 0.05). Although, in the dominant model, the CT and CTTT genotypes of the rs1041740 and rs17880135 variants showed an association with susceptibility to vitiligo compared to the control. Plasma SOD levels showed significant differences between the groups, and when stratified according to the genotypes of each variant, there was a significant difference, except with the rs17880135 variant. The haplotypes InsCGTC and InsAGCC are shown to be risk factors for susceptibility to vitiligo. The in-silico analysis demonstrated that the rs4817415, rs2070424, rs1041740, and rs17880135 variants of the SOD1 gene participate in the modification of selected regulatory elements for differentiating the protein, transcription factors, and long non-coding RNA.
Conclusions: Information regarding the pathogenesis of vitiligo helps recognize risk factors and identify the relationship of diagnostic markers of cell damage inherent to the disease. This will help improve aspects of prevention and the choice of treatment alternatives appropriate to each case.