Le Poole I C, van den Wijngaard R M, Westerhof W, Dutrieux R P, Das P K
Department of Dermatology, Amsterdam University, The Netherlands.
J Invest Dermatol. 1993 Jun;100(6):816-22. doi: 10.1111/1523-1747.ep12476645.
There is a long-standing controversy over whether melanocytes in vitiligo lesions are actually lost or are still present but inactivated. Resolving this matter is essential for understanding the underlying pathology and for the development of treatment. Standard methods of detecting melanocytes are based on active melanin synthesis. However, it is possible that inactive melanocytes remain in the lesions. There are no methods presently available to detect such dormant melanocytes. Using a panel of one polyclonal and 17 monoclonal antibodies directed against melanocytic cells (largely selected by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Melanoma Group for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes), we investigated the absence or inactivation of melanocytes in vitiligo by immunohistochemistry. Results using this panel of antibodies on frozen skin sections suggest that melanocytes are indeed absent in the lesions. However, in epidermal split-skin preparations, residual staining was occasionally observed. To determine whether the staining obtained was due to degenerated melanocytes, confocal laser scanning microscopy was used. Immunofluorescent staining using the antibody NKI-beteb confirmed this to be the case. The results presented here strongly suggest that melanocytes are indeed lost in vitiligo lesions.
白癜风皮损中的黑素细胞究竟是实际消失了还是仍然存在但处于失活状态，长期以来一直存在争议。解决这个问题对于理解潜在病理机制和开发治疗方法至关重要。检测黑素细胞的标准方法基于活跃的黑色素合成。然而，失活的黑素细胞有可能仍存在于皮损中。目前尚无检测此类休眠黑素细胞的方法。我们使用一组针对黑素细胞的多克隆抗体和17种单克隆抗体（主要由欧洲癌症研究与治疗组织黑色素瘤小组为诊断和治疗目的挑选），通过免疫组织化学研究白癜风中黑素细胞的缺失或失活情况。在冷冻皮肤切片上使用该组抗体的结果表明，皮损中确实不存在黑素细胞。然而，在表皮劈开皮肤标本中，偶尔会观察到残留染色。为了确定所获得的染色是否归因于退化的黑素细胞，使用了共聚焦激光扫描显微镜。使用抗体NKI-beteb进行的免疫荧光染色证实了情况确实如此。此处呈现的结果强烈表明，白癜风皮损中的黑素细胞确实消失了。
