Anti-pigment-cell factors and mucocutaneous candidiasis.
Previous reports documented the fact that some patients with mucocutaneous candidiasis and vitiligo have a complement-fixing anti-pigment-cell factor in their serum. We examined sera from seven patients with mucocutaneous candidiasis without vitiligo. Three of the seven sera contained the anti-pigment-cell factor. We suggest that these anti-pigment-cell factors, which are most probably antibodies, are not cytotoxic for pigment cells and, thus, not the cause of vitiligo. The association of vitiligo and anti-pigment-cell factors with the syndrome of mucocutaneous candidiasis implicates the immune system are a causal factor of vitiligo.
D000328:Adult; D000917:Antibody Formation; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000276:immunology*; D002178:Candidiasis, Chronic Mucocutaneous / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D003168:Complement Fixation Tests; D000078404:Epidermal Cells; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010860:Pigments, Biological; D014820:Vitiligo / Q000276:immunology
D010860:Pigments, Biological