Neutrophil Cytosolic Factor-1 Genotyping in Acne Vulgaris

Acne vulgaris (AV) is a very common inflammatory dermatosis. It has a complex pathogenesis in which oxidative stress plays an important role. Neutrophil cytosolic factor (NCF)-1 gene encodes for NCF1 protein which shares in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Copy number variation (CNV) is a type of genetic variance in which gene copies are duplicated or deleted. The current work aimed to detect the association between NCF1 CNV and NCF-1 genotypes and AV to explore their possible role in increased disease risk or influencing its clinical presentation. Twenty-five cases with AV and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers were selected. NCF1 CNV and genotypes were determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. NCF1 copy number was significantly increased in patients compared to the control group (p = 0.02). Higher copy number increased the risk of occurrence of AV by about 4-fold. The NCF1 genotype was more prevalent in patients (72%) compared to NCF1B (24%) and NCF1C (4%) variants, while NCF1B and NCF1C variants (68%) were more prevalent in the control group. The NCF1B genotype decreased the risk of occurrence of AV by 0.2-fold. NCF1 was significantly associated with cases more than controls (p = 0.005). It increased the risk of occurrence of acne by 5.4-fold. There was significant association between NCF1 copy number and disease duration where higher number was associated with long disease duration (p = 0.03). Higher copy number was also associated with the NCF1 genotype (p = 0.01). This study suggests that increased copy number of NCF1 gene may be a predisposing factor for AV development. However, the presence of NCF1B and NCF1C variants lowers ROS production and subsequently decreases the risk of development of AV.