title: Melanocyte-specific immune response in melanoma and vitiligo: two faces of the same coin?
abstract: The appearance of depigmentation during the course of malignant melanoma has been considered a good prognostic sign. Is it only a side-effect, informative of the immune system's response to the treatment, or does it act as a necessary amplifier of these clinically important anti-tumor responses? The current review will attempt to tackle this question by reviewing the current literature, as well as by posing some novel hypotheses. Understanding the nature of humoral and cellular immune responses directed against normal melanocytes and their malignant counterparts may lead to the design of improved therapeutic strategies relevant to both vitiligo and melanoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wankowicz-Kalinska
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Le Poole
authors.forename: Rene
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: van den Wijngaard
authors.forename: Walter J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Storkus
authors.forename: Pranab K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Das
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008545:Melanoma / Q000276:immunology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D014820:Vitiligo / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies