Vitiligo is an immune skin disorder consisting of depigmented skin patches caused by the destruction of epidermal melanocytes. Vitiligo treatment represents a clinical challenge since the re-pigmentation mechanism is not fully understood. In this pilot study, we employ in-vivo multiphoton microscopy to evaluate epidermal keratinocyte metabolic state before and during treatment, in-vivo reflectance confocal microscopy to track melanocyte migration after treatment initiation, and single cell transcriptomics to identify unique cell populations more abundant in stable vitiligo lesions compared to normal skin. The findings provide insights into the role of certain cell populations in the viability of micro-grafting treatments.
Vitiligo is characterized by white patches on skin due to the loss of melanocytes. Treatments are not uniformly successful and re-pigmentation is rarely complete. Optical laser scanning microscopy techniques have great potential to advance our understanding of the repigmentation process of vitiligo.
In this pilot study, we employ in-vivo multiphoton microscopy (MPM) to assess potential changes in the metabolic state of epidermal keratinocytes involved in vitiligo before and throughout treatment, and in-vivo reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) to assess the initiation of the re-pigmentation process and monitor wound healing after micro-grafting treatment.
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