title: Angiotensin converting enzyme activity in alopecia areata.
abstract: Background. Alopecia areata (AA) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the hair follicle. The exact pathogenesis of AA remains unknown, although recent studies support a T-cell mediated autoimmune process. On the other hand, some studies have proposed that the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) may play a role in autoimmunity. Therefore, we assessed serum activity of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), a component of this system, in AA. Methods. ACE activity was measured in the sera of 19 patients with AA and 16 healthy control subjects. In addition, the relationship between severity and duration of the disease and ACE activity was evaluated. Results. Serum ACE activity was higher in the patient group (55.81 U/L) compared to the control group (46.41 U/L), but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.085). Also, there was no correlation between ACE activity and severity (P = 0.13) and duration of disease (P = 0.25) in the patient group. Conclusion. The increased serum ACE activity found in this study may demonstrate local involvement of the RAAS in the pathogenesis of AA. Assessment of ACE in a study with a larger sample size as well as in tissue samples is recommended in order to further evaluate the possible role of RAAS in AA.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Dermatology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348 44119, Iran ; Department of Dermatology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348 44119, Iran ; University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Namazi
authors.affiliation: Molecular Dermatology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348 44119, Iran.
authors.forename: Armaghan
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2224-6602
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ashraf
authors.affiliation: Molecular Dermatology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348 44119, Iran ; Department of Dermatology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348 44119, Iran.
authors.forename: Farhad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Handjani
authors.affiliation: Molecular Medicine Research Center, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas 79149 64153, Iran.
authors.forename: Ebrahim
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eftekhar
authors.affiliation: Molecular Dermatology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348 44119, Iran ; Department of Dermatology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 71348 44119, Iran.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kalafi