Is Vitiligo Related to Melanocyte Self-Destruction?

We know that the main function of melanocytes is to produce melanin, and the normal and healthy skin tone of the human body is the result of the balance between the synthesis and metabolism of melanin. When melanocyte dysfunction or structural damage, melanin formation is reduced or stopped, but melanin degradation and destruction are still going on, and the result is skin pigmentation is lighter or lost, which causes vitiligo. It can maintain the normal and healthy skin color of the human body, although the exact pathogenesis of vitiligo is not clear, a lot of information confirms that melanocyte self-destruction may be one of the factors leading to the occurrence of vitiligo.

Some scholars have suggested that vitiligo occurs due to the hyperfunction of melanocytes in the cells themselves, prompting their depletion and early decline, and may also be due to overproduction or clustering of intermediate products of melanin synthesis in the cells themselves. However, certain scholars point out that when melanocytes are dysfunctional or structurally destroyed, melanin formation is reduced or stopped, and melanin degradation and destruction still proceed, resulting in skin pigmentation fading or loss, leading to vitiligo.

In the process of melanocyte self-destruction, there may be an immune reaction involved, that is, the destroyed melanocytes become antigen again, through the immune mechanism to form anti-melanocyte antibodies, so that melanocytes are damaged by the immune reaction, a vicious circle, melanocyte damage more and more serious. This can explain the high prevalence of vitiligo in blacks with dark skin color compared to yellow and white people with light skin color, as well as the ease of whitening in areas with dark normal skin color. We statistically analyzed 773 vitiligo patients and found that in 99.64% of the cases, the occurrence and aggravation of their white spots are related to seasonal factors, especially in late spring and early summer when new white spots are more likely to occur, and 5.45% of the cases have a history of sun exposure and develop when they have severe sunburn or tanning, which also supports the theory of melanocyte self-destruction.