Evaluation of Interleukin-4 in patients with skin warts caused by Human Papillomavirus

Abstract

Background: Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are a class of viruses which depending on their strain, they can cause cancer or developing benign growths known as “warts”, that is define as a benign epithelial keratinocyte proliferation produced by HPV infection that can affect the skin and mucous membranes. The aimed of this study was to evaluate the role of Interleukin 4 (IL-4) in the development of HPV skin wart. Subject and methods: this case-control study was conducted on 42 serum samples of man and women diagnosed with skin wart; these samples were collected from Al-Shatrah hospital from November 2021 to March 2022. Inclusion criteria include male and female patients diagnosed with skin wart based on examination of a specialist physician in dermatology. Healthy control group include 40 male and female persons negative for skin warts. IL-4 concentration was measured by ELISA in sera sample of both patients and control groups. The result showed that 30 of 42 skin wart sample was positive for HPV antibody, the mean age of patient was 24.1 and median age was 21. The mean of IL-4 concentration was high in HPV skin wart patient (14 pg/ml) compared with control (0 pg/ml). Conclusion of the present study observed that interleukin-4 may be involved in the development of skin wart caused by HPV infection.