Poster presentation, P85

Official XXIst International Pigment Cell Conference website - 21-24 Sept 2011, Bordeaux - France | updated: September 04 2011

Inflammasome activation and nonsegmental vitiligo progression

SPEAKER M. Cario-André #whois submiter ?
AUTHOR(s) K. Ezzedine, M. Cario-André

Non segmental vitiligo is a chronic cutaneous disease characterized by bilateral patchy depigmentation. Data have suggested the central role of cytotoxic T lymphocytes in melanocytes destruction. An autoimmune process is deemed plausible in the pathogenesis of vitiligo. Recently a genome-wide analysis study has underlined the possible implication of NALP-1, a key protein of the inflammasome complex, in the pathogenesis of vitiligo. In fact, genomic variants of NALP-1 have been linked to increased susceptibility to autoimmune diseases and to vitiligo. However, the exact role of NALP-1 is the early phase of depigmentation as well as its relation with the T lymphocytes infiltration is still to be elucidated. In this context, we thought to set-up a study with the aim to evaluate the presence of NALP-1 in lesional and perilesional skin of non-segmental vitiligo patients and to search for a correlation between NALP-1, lymphocytic infiltrate and the disease activity. Fourteen patients were enrolled after having given their written informed consent between June 2009 and September 2010. Biopies were taken from lesional and perilesional skin and disease activity was evaluated according to spreading as defined in the VETF questionnaire. The importance of NALP1 immunostaining, CD4 and CD8 was evaluated as follows - Grade 1: negative or absence of infiltrate - Grade 2: sparse - Grade 3: positive staining and/or infiltrate along the basal layer - Grade 4: positive staining in all layers Our results showed that NALP was almost absent in lesional skin of most patients whether the disease was active or not whereas NALP1 was strongly positive in 5 patients (grade 3 and 4) with active disease (spreading evaluated from 3 to 5). In addition, we noted a marked inflammatory infiltrate of CD8 and CD4 in peri-lesional skin of patients with active disease (grade 3 and 4 in patients with spreading ≥ 2), and to a less extent in lesional skin of active disease. On the contrary there was no infiltrate in most patients with poor disease activity. CONCLUSION: Our result suggests that the role of NALP1 in non-segmental vitiligo is strongly linked to disease activity. In addition, NALP1 seems to be active at the border of lesions and may play an important role in disease progression.



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