Association between epidermal growth factor and epidermal growth factor receptor gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to alopecia areata in Korean population

The study investigated the association between epidermal growth factor (EGF) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene polymorphisms and the susceptibility to alopecia areata (AA) in a Korean population. It involved 231 AA patients and 270 healthy controls. The researchers examined the genotype frequency of 5 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the EGF gene and 5 SNPs in the EGFR gene. The results showed that one SNP in the EGF gene (rs11569017) and one SNP in the EGFR gene (rs6965469) had significant differences between AA patients and the control group. Additionally, specific SNPs were associated with nail involvement and the clinical subtypes of AA, such as patch type AA and alopecia totalis. The study concluded that EGF and EGFR gene polymorphisms might contribute to increased susceptibility to AA in the Korean population, with certain polymorphisms being associated with nail involvement and body hair loss.