Pathogenesis of vitiligo / 中华皮肤科杂志

ABSTRACT

While researches about pathogenesis of vitiligo have focused on intrinsic abnormalities of melanocytes and T cell-mediated specific immune response targeting melanocytes, the key role of innate immune response induced by intrinsic damage to melanocytes, and that of keratinocytes in the immune microenvironment in vitiligo skin lesions have become new hot spots recently. Many questions still remain unanswered, including how melanocytes trigger innate immune response and activate adaptive immune response, how keratinocytes and T cells alternately regulate skin immune responses, etc. In the next years, understanding how the above factors synergistically contribute to the damage to melanocytes in vitiligo will facilitate further development of new therapies and targeted drugs.