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
. 2020 Aug;59(8):982-988.
doi: 10.1111/ijd.14983. Epub 2020 Jun 18.

Expression of immune checkpoints in active nonsegmental vitiligo: a pilot study

Sherif S Awad  1 , Ahmed A Touni  1 , Manal Y Gabril  2
Affiliations

Expression of immune checkpoints in active nonsegmental vitiligo: a pilot study

Sherif S Awad et al. Int J Dermatol. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Vitiligo is a depigmentary skin disfigurement resulting from destruction of melanocytes caused by a possible malfunctioning immunity. This destruction could be linked to an aberrant T-cell-mediated immune response. Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) and programmed death-1 (PD-1) are immune checkpoints capable of downregulating T-cell immune functions.

Objectives: To evaluate the pattern of expression of PD-1 and CTLA-4 in active vitiligo skin.

Methods: Thirty nonsegmental vitiligo (NSV) patients had been included in this pilot study. Marginal, lesional, and nonlesional skin biopsies were obtained. PD-1 and CTLA-4 immunohistochemistry expression in the mononuclear inflammatory infiltrates were evaluated using digital images.

Results: The marginal and lesional inflammatory infiltrates were significantly abundant when compared to nonlesional ones. The marginal infiltrates were significantly abundant when compared to the lesional ones. PD-1 and CTLA-4 were significantly expressed in the marginal and lesional infiltrates when compared to nonlesional skin. Moreover, the marginal expression of PD-1 was significantly higher than the lesional expression. However, no similar significant difference in CTLA-4 expression was found between the marginal and lesional infiltrates. Significant positive correlations were found between the expressions of PD-1 and CTLA-4 in marginal and lesional infiltrates.

Conclusion: Programmed death-1 and CTLA-4 are expressed within the inflammatory infiltrate of active NSV. Further studies are required to confirm their significance in the development or limitation of the disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Alikhan A, Felsten LM, Daly M, Petronic-Rosic V. Vitiligo: a comprehensive overview part I. Introduction, epidemiology, quality of life, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, associations, histopathology, etiology, and work-up. J Am Acad Dermatol 2011; 65: 473-491.
    1. Schallreuter KU, Bahadoran P, Picardo M, et al. Vitiligo pathogenesis: autoimmune disease, genetic defect, excessive reactive oxygen species, calcium imbalance, or what else? Exp Dermatol 2008; 17: 139-140; discussion 41-60.
    1. Dwivedi M, Laddha NC, Arora P, Marfatia YS, Begum R. Decreased regulatory T-cells and CD4(+)/CD8(+) ratio correlate with disease onset and progression in patients with generalized vitiligo. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res 2013; 26: 586-591.
    1. Sharma P, Allison JP. The future of immune checkpoint therapy. Science 2015; 348: 56-61.
    1. Buchbinder EI, Desai A. CTLA-4 and PD-1 pathways: similarities, differences, and implications of their inhibition. Am J Clin Oncol 2016; 39: 98-106.

LinkOut - more resources