Metabolomic profiling between vitiligo patients and healthy subjects in plateau exhibited significant differences with those in plain.

Vitiligo is the most common disorder of depigmentation, which is caused by multiple factors like metabolic abnormality, oxidative stress and the disorders of immune. In recent years, several studies have used untargeted metabolomics to analyze differential metabolites in patients with vitiligo, however, the subjects in these studies were all in plain area. In our study, multivariate analysis indicated a distinct separation between the healthy subjects from plateau and plain areas in electrospray positive and negative ions modes, respectively. Similarly, a distinct separation between vitiligo patients and healthy controls from plateau and plain areas was detected in the two ions modes. Among the identified metabolites, the serum levels of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) were markedly higher in vitiligo patients compare to healthy subjects in plain and markedly higher in healthy subjects in plateau compare to those in plain. There are significant differences in serum metabolome between vitiligo patients and healthy subjects in both plateau and plain areas, as well as in healthy subjects from plateau and plain areas. S1P metabolism alteration may be involved in the pathogenesis of vitiligo.