Calprotectin can play an inflammatory role in acne vulgaris.

INTRODUCTION

Acne vulgaris (AV) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the pilosebaceous unit. Although various mechanisms have been indicated in the etiopathogenesis of acne vulgaris, the exact pathophysiology is still unknown.

AIM: To investigate the level of calprotectin in acne vulgaris and its levels relationship with disease severity.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

A total of 66 AV patients, who were divided into 33 mild and 33 moderate-severe cases, and 30 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Disease severity was assessed using the Global Acne Score. According to this scale, patients whose Global Acne Score was 1-18 had mild acne, those with a score of 19-30 had moderate acne, those with a score of 31-38 had severe acne, and those with a score greater than 39 had very severe acne. Serum calprotectin levels of all participants were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method.

RESULTS

The serum calprotectin levels in the moderate-severe AV group were significantly higher than that of the mild AV group (p < 0.001). In addition, the serum calprotectin level in the mild AV group was significantly higher than that of the healthy control group (p = 0.047). However, in the Spearman's correlation analysis, the serum calprotectin level and GAS were not correlated in AV patients (p = 0.171, r = 0.179).

CONCLUSIONS

Serum calprotectin levels are increased in mild and moderate AV patients.