Protein tyrosine phosphatase PTPN22 +1858C/T polymorphism is associated with active vitiligo

Vitiligo is characterized by a skin depigmentation disorder resulting from an autoimmune response targeting melanocytes. Within the genetic factors involved in the development of the vitiligo immune response, various genes in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and non-MHC loci have been considered to be risk factors. The PTPN22 gene encodes for a lymphoid protein tyrosine phosphatase, a regulator of the activation and development of T-cells. The +1858C/T polymorphism has been associated to autoimmune disease susceptibility in different populations and could be implicated in the onset of vitiligo. To assess the possible association between the presence of PTPN22 +1858C/T and vitiligo, 187 patients with vitiligo and 223 control subjects were analyzed in the study. Genomic DNA was isolated using the salting-out method and samples were subjected to polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism in order to detect the PTPN22 +1858C/T polymorphism. Causal associations were determined by χ² test and their respective odds ratio (OR) was assessed in a 2×2 contingency table. The results showed an association between active vitiligo and the allele T load [P=0.0418; OR, 2.5706; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.0040-6.5816], and active vitiligo-CT genotype (P=0.0389, OR, 2.6548; 95% CI, 1.0191-6.9156). In conclusion, the present data indicates a possible association between the PTPN22 +1858C/T genotype and a significant susceptibility of developing an active form of vitiligo.