Evaluation of serum FoxO1, mTORC1, IGF-1, IGFBP-3 levels and metabolic syndrome components in patients with acne vulgaris: A prospective case-control study.

Aktaş Karabay, Ezgi; Saltık, Zeynep Alara; Unay Demirel, Özlem

BACKGROUND Recently, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), forkhead box transcription factor (Fox) O1, and mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signalling have been introduced as key elements in acne pathogenesis. OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between serum levels of IGF-1, insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), FoxO1 and mTORC1 and the components of metabolic syndrome (MS) and AV. METHODS This prospective case-control study was carried out on 89 participants, including 49 AV patients and 40 controls. The serum levels of IGF-1, IGFBP-3, insulin, FoxO1 and mTORC1 were measured along with the components of MS. RESULTS The blood pressure (BP) measures were significantly higher in the AV patients than in the controls (p = 0.001). The mean high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were significantly lower in the AV patients than in the controls (p = 0.040). The numbers of accompanying MS components were significantly higher in the AV patients than in the controls (p = 0.001). The IGFBP-3 levels were significantly higher in the AV patients than in the controls (p = 0.02). The IGF-1, mTORC1 and FoxO1 levels were higher in the AV patients than in the controls; neither were statistically significant (p = 0.093, p = 0.741, p = 0.564; respectively). CONLUSIONS The higher BP and IGFBP-3 levels, the lower HDL-C levels and the common presence of MS components demand caution in terms of new therapeutic strategies and possible associated comorbidities. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.