Editorial: Immunology of Vitiligo

Disappearance of melanocytes is the pathogenic hallmark of vitiligo. Progressive depigmentation of the skin has a high negative impact on patients’ quality of life. To date, vitiligo remains a therapeutic challenge. Several theories have been proposed to explain disease pathogenesis, considering the roles of increased inflammatory and cytotoxic immune responses, neuropeptides, microvascular anomalies, intrinsic abnormalities in melanocyte and keratinocyte adhesion, as well as oxidative stress. Over the past decades, clinical, basic, and translational research on patient samples as well as in vitro and in vivo models have tremendously improved our understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease and highlighted its complexity. Such progress is of utmost importance to identify appropriate therapeutic targets and treatments to halt progression of the disease and to induce repigmentation. “Immunology of vitiligo” is a collection of six review articles and four original articles focusing on complementary aspects of the immune pathways involved in vitiligo, from a pathophysiologic to a therapeutic perspective.