Evaluation of the Diagnostic Significance of Some Biomarkers in Pruritic Dermatological Diseases: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Indolamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), neopterin, periostin, tenascin-C (TN-C), chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1/YKL-40) YKL-40 have been previously described as diagnostic markers for a number of pathologies. The aim of our study is to compare the levels of some immune system-related biomarkers in itchy dermatological diseases with healthy people and to evaluate the diagnostic importance of these markers in dermatological diseases. Material and Methods: Our study included 55 patients diagnosed with neurodermatitis, generalised pruritus and lichen planus. The control group was composed of 30 healthy adult volunteers with no history of allergic skin conditions. All participants provided informed consent for the use of their medical data in the study. The serum samples were centrifuged. Centrifuged samples were stored at -80 ˚C. IDO, neopterin, periostin, TN-C, YKL-40 levels were determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Conover post-hoc method were used for statistical analysis. Results: Demographic characteristics were recorded and no statistically significant difference was found between demographic differences. IDO, neopterin, periostin, TN-C, YKL-40 levels were higher in patients than in controls (p<0.05). The Th1/Th2-mediated immune response activation has been observed in allergic skin diseases. A positive correlation was found between all measured parameters (p<0.01). Conclusion: In our study, non-invasive current biomarkers that can be used in the diagnosis of dermatological pathologies yielded significant results. We found higher levels of serum biomarkers in patients compared to controls. It remains uncertain whether the examined protein is related only to inflammation or is released also as a result of specific biochemical processes due to allergy. However, these indicators may still have an important place in terms of early diagnosis.