Aberrant Notch signaling: A potential pathomechanism of vitiligo

Summary Vitiligo is characterized by a localized and progressive loss of melanocytes which are pigment cells responsible for the pigmentation of human. The etiopathogenetic mechanisms leading to melanocytes loss in vitiligo lesions are not yet fully understood and no effective treatment or cure exis...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical hypotheses 2009-07, Vol.73 (1), p.70-72
Main Authors: Diao, Jian-Sheng, Zhang, Xi, Xia, Wen-Sen, Zheng, Yan, Ren, Jing, Wang, Ying-Mei, Gong, Zhao, Xia, Wei, Guo, Shu-Zhong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Humans
Internal Medicine
Melanocytes - metabolism
Models, Biological
Receptors, Notch - metabolism
Signal Transduction
Skin - metabolism
Skin - pathology
Vitiligo - metabolism
Vitiligo - prevention & control
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Summary Vitiligo is characterized by a localized and progressive loss of melanocytes which are pigment cells responsible for the pigmentation of human. The etiopathogenetic mechanisms leading to melanocytes loss in vitiligo lesions are not yet fully understood and no effective treatment or cure exists. Notch signaling has been shown to control many cellular functions of melanocytes. Activation of Notch signaling occurs during the formation of melanocytic tumors and inactivation of Notch signaling causes a dramatic elimination of melanocytes precursors. So we postulate that inactivation of Notch signaling in the melanocytes may be a potential pathomechanism of vitiligo. If the hypothesis was proved to be practical, we could provide new understanding of the etiology of vitiligo and produce new therapeutic avenues.
ISSN:0306-9877
1532-2777
DOI:10.1016/j.mehy.2009.02.003