Dormant pigment cells found in vitiligo patches may offer treatment target

Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks and destroys melanocytes, the cells that produce the skin pigment melanin.

Once the melanocytes are gone, the skin turns white, leading to the characteristic skin patches of the disease.

However, the standard model of vitiligo doesn't explain some of its unusual features.

Some vitiligo lesions repigment, and treatments sometimes restore pigmentation even in areas that lack melanocytes, suggesting that the melanocytes may not be fully destroyed. ...