Repigmentation through Melanocyte Regeneration in Vitiligo

Abstract

Repigmentation in vitiligo is the process that replaces, in the epidermal basal layer of vitiligo skin, the mature melanocytes that have been killed by cytotoxic T cells specific for melanocyte antigens. It consists of mobilization of melanocyte precursors in the hair follicle bulge and infundibulum to proliferate, migrate, and differentiate into mature melanocytes, moving from the hair follicle bulge to the interfollicular epidermis. The most common clinical presentation of repigmentation in vitiligo is the perifollicular pattern. The most potent stimulus for repigmentation is the UV light.

Keywords: Bulge; Differentiation; Hair follicle; Melanocyte stem cell; Migration; Proliferation; Repigmentation; Vitiligo.