title: Immunohistochemical expression of AQP-3 in vitiligo: a new potential guide for disease activity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vitiligo is a depigmenting skin disorder, with disappearance of functioning epidermal melanocytes. Aquaporin-3 (AQP-3) is an aquaglyceroporin expressed in epidermal keratinocytes, where it shares in regulating their proliferation and differentiation, and so it might affect melanocytes indirectly. So far, little is known regarding its possible role in vitiligo. This work aimed to study the changes in immunohistochemical expression of AQP-3 protein in vitiligo to detect its possible role in disease pathogenesis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Skin biopsies were taken from lesional skin of 30 vitiligo patients in addition to 20 normal controls. Epidermal immunohistochemical expression of AQP-3 was assessed as: +3 = strong expression, +2 = moderate, +1= weak and 0= negative expression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  AQP-3 was significantly less expressed in vitiligo epidermis than control (P<0.001) with an inverse correlation with Vitiligo Index of Disease Activity (r =-0.505, P=0.004).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Reduced epidermal AQP-3 may have a role in impaired melanocyte survival in vitiligo, and might be a potential negative biological marker for vitiligo activity. Larger trials should further elucidate the effect of changes in epidermal AQP-3 expression in development of vitiligo, and that might pave the road for discovering new therapeutic modalities for the disease.
authors.affiliation: Dermatology and Venereology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.
authors.forename: Abeer
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hodeib
authors.affiliation: Dermatology and Venereology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt - doaasalahhegab@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Doaa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hegab
authors.affiliation: Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.
authors.forename: Omnia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rizk
authors.affiliation: Dermatology and Venereology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.
authors.forename: Shahdan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohammed
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D051400:Aquaporin 3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001706:Biopsy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002470:Cell Survival; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014820:Vitiligo / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D051400:Aquaporin 3