Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Feb;151(1):44-54.
Epub 2015 Oct 29.

New insights into immune mechanisms of vitiligo

Katia Boniface  1 , Alain Taïeb, Julien Seneschal
Affiliations
  • PMID: 26512930
Review

New insights into immune mechanisms of vitiligo

Katia Boniface et al. G Ital Dermatol Venereol. 2016 Feb.

Abstract

Vitiligo is the most common depigmenting disorder, affecting 0.5% of the population. This stigmatizing disease has a major social impact with high unmet needs, and no real curative intervention has been reported so far. Vitiligo is characterized by the development of white macules resulting from a loss of epidermal melanocytes, which can result from cell destruction through melanocyte-specific cytotoxic immune response and melanocyte detachment through a defective adhesion system. Multiple mechanisms have been suggested to be involved in melanocyte disappearance: genetic predisposition, environmental triggers, metabolic abnormalities, altered inflammatory and immune responses. The autoimmune and inflammatory theory is the leading hypothesis. Indeed, vitiligo is often associated with autoimmune diseases; genome-wide association studies and functional pathway analyses have shown that most vitiligo susceptibility loci encode components of the immune system; and immune cells are found in the perilesional margin of actively depigmenting skin of vitiligo patients. However, studies support melanocytes intrinsic abnormalities in vitiligo associated with increased melanocytes stress leading to the release of dangers signals important for the activation of the immune system. This review aimed to overview the link between cellular stress, melanocyte function, and the abnormal inflammatory immune response in vitiligo. The involvement of innate and adaptive immune cells in the pathomechanisms leading to melanocyte loss observed in vitiligo will be discussed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

LinkOut - more resources