The Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 (G>A) and 5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (C677t) Gene Variants and the Serum Levels of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1, Insulin, and Homeostasis Model Assessment in Patients With Acne Vulgaris

Background & objective: to find an association between gene variants of insulin-like growth factor-1 (igf-1) and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (mthfr) with the risk of acne vulgaris (av). methods: in a case-control study, we investigated 150 av patients and 148 healthy individuals (aged 18-25 years) for the igf-1 g>a and mthfr c677t polymorphisms, as well as the serum levels of igf-1, insulin, and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (homa-ir). the serum biochemical parameters and the genotypes of igf-1 g>a and mthfr c677t were detected by using appropriate kits and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (pcr-rflp) methods, respectively. results: the frequencies of igf-1 and the mthfr polymorphisms were not significantly different comparing patients and controls. the serum level of igf-1 was 179.8±72.8 μg/l in av patients compared to 164.6±63.7 μg/l in controls (p=0.056). the serum level of insulin in female patients was significantly higher than controls. the homa was 3.54±5.6 in patients compared to 1.16±1.4 (p<0.001) in controls. significantly higher levels of fasting blood sugar (fbs), total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (ldl-c) were detected in female patients than controls. however, the level of estradiol was significantly lower in female patients than in controls. in females, the presence of the mthfr t allele was associated with significantly higher levels of fbs and ldl-c, as well as a significantly lower level of estradiol compared to those carriers of the c allele. conclusion: we found the absence of an association between igf-1 and mthfr polymorphisms with the risk of av. however, increased insulin, igf-1, and homa levels in av patients indicated the effect of insulin and insulin resistance in the risk of av and its severity.