ASSOCIATION BETWEEN GENETIC VARIANTS OF SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS OF THE DISCOIDIN DOMAIN RECEPTOR TYROSINE KINASE 1 (DDR1) A/C (RS 2267641) AND GRANZYME B (GZMB) C/T (RS8192917) GENES IN VITILIGO

Vitiligo manifests as advanced loss of melanocytes with reduced cellular adhesion. Discoidin Domain Receptor Tyrosine kinase1 (DDR1) is a main element affecting cellular adhesiveness associated with vitiligo. Granzyme B (GZMB) has significant role in cytotoxic T-cell induced apoptosis. This study aimed to evaluate the association between genetic variants of single nucleotide polymorphisms of DDR1 A/C (rs 2267641) and GZMB C/T (rs8192917) and the risk of developing vitiligo. The genotypes were investigated using allele discrimination assay comparing 120 patients having non-segmental vitiligo and 100 age and gender matched healthy individuals. We detected a significant prevalence of the CC genotype and C allele of both DDR1 and GZMB polymorphisms in vitiligo patients with early onset and progressive course compared to controls. Our results concluded that DDR1 A/C (rs 2267641) and GZMB C/T (rs8192917) polymorphisms may be risk factors for vitiligo.