Fan Ruirui, Gao Jie, Chen Jin
Department of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Department of Pathological Anatomy, The Islands Healthcare Complex- Macao Medical Center of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Macao, China.
Stem Cell Res Ther. 2025 Jun 3;16(1):280. doi: 10.1186/s13287-025-04410-6.
The global incidence of vitiligo has been increasing in recent years, imposing psychological distress and social pressure owing to its refractory and recurrent nature. Traditional therapies often yield unsatisfactory outcomes, necessitating the development of new, effective therapies for vitiligo. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether transplantation of hair follicle-derived melanocytes can restore pigmentation in depigmented skin associated with vitiligo.
We developed a method to isolate and culture hair follicle-derived melanocytes. We identified melanocytes at the cellular, protein, and gene levels and established a mouse model of vitiligo using the melanoma/T regulatory cell exhaustion induction method. We used a WOOD's UV lamp, hematoxylin and eosin staining, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, L-DOPA staining, Ferrous sulfate staining, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to characterize the vitiligo mouse model. Subsequently, we transplanted hair follicle-derived melanocytes into the mouse model using dermabrasion. Finally, the aforementioned methods determine whether hair follicle-derived melanocytes could survive and recolor vitiligo skin after transplantation.
We successfully developed a method for isolating and culturing hair follicle-derived melanocytes. Immunofluorescence and flow cytometry results indicated that the cells expressed pigmentation markers such as tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein 1, and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor. L-DOPA staining revealed that there was some melanin in the melanocytes, confirming that the melanocytes were functional. Moreover, we successfully established a vitiligo mouse model that recapitulates the key clinical features of vitiligo, including epidermal depigmentation, CD8+/CD4 + T cell infiltration in the skin, and melanocyte loss, confirming that the mouse model reliably mimics human vitiligo. Moreover, vitiligo-afflicted skin was effectively recovered by transplantation of hair follicle-derived melanocytes. Notably, the skin color of the experimental group was similar to that of the control group. Immunofluorescence staining and immunohistochemistry results indicated the presence of melanocytes in the skin of the experimental group, while TEM confirmed that the melanocytes were functional after transplantation.
Transplantation of hair follicle-derived melanocytes may serve as a more effective therapeutic strategy for vitiligo than currently available methods.
近年来，白癜风的全球发病率一直在上升，因其难治性和复发性给患者带来心理困扰和社会压力。传统疗法往往效果不尽人意，因此需要开发新的有效治疗白癜风的方法。在本研究中，我们旨在评估毛囊来源的黑素细胞移植是否能恢复白癜风相关色素脱失皮肤的色素沉着。
我们开发了一种分离和培养毛囊来源黑素细胞的方法。我们在细胞、蛋白质和基因水平鉴定黑素细胞，并使用黑色素瘤/T调节性细胞耗竭诱导法建立了白癜风小鼠模型。我们使用伍德氏紫外线灯、苏木精和伊红染色、免疫组织化学、免疫荧光、L-多巴染色、硫酸亚铁染色和透射电子显微镜（TEM）来表征白癜风小鼠模型。随后，我们使用磨皮术将毛囊来源的黑素细胞移植到小鼠模型中。最后，通过上述方法确定毛囊来源的黑素细胞在移植后是否能在白癜风皮肤中存活并重新着色。
我们成功开发了一种分离和培养毛囊来源黑素细胞的方法。免疫荧光和流式细胞术结果表明，这些细胞表达色素沉着标志物，如酪氨酸酶、酪氨酸酶相关蛋白1和小眼相关转录因子。L-多巴染色显示黑素细胞中有一些黑色素，证实黑素细胞具有功能。此外，我们成功建立了一个白癜风小鼠模型，该模型概括了白癜风的关键临床特征，包括表皮色素脱失、皮肤中CD8+/CD4 + T细胞浸润和黑素细胞丢失，证实该小鼠模型可靠地模拟了人类白癜风。此外，通过移植毛囊来源的黑素细胞，白癜风受累皮肤得到有效恢复。值得注意的是，实验组的皮肤颜色与对照组相似。免疫荧光染色和免疫组织化学结果表明实验组皮肤中存在黑素细胞，而透射电子显微镜证实移植后黑素细胞具有功能。
与现有方法相比，毛囊来源的黑素细胞移植可能是一种更有效的白癜风治疗策略。
