title: Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) as a spontaneous animal model of Vitiligo.
abstract: Vitiligo is a multifactorial acquired depigmenting disorder. Recent insights into the molecular mechanisms driving the gradual destruction of melanocytes in vitiligo will likely lead to the discovery of novel therapies, which need to be evaluated in animal models that closely recapitulate the pathogenesis of human vitiligo. In humans, vitiligo is characterized by a spontaneous loss of functional melanocytes from the epidermis, but most animal models of vitiligo are either inducible or genetically programmed. Here, we report that acquired depigmentation in water buffalo recapitulates molecular, histological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural changes observed in human vitiligo and hence could be used as a model to study vitiligo pathogenesis and facilitate the discovery and evaluation of therapeutic interventions for vitiligo.
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Group, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Vijay Pal
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Group, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Rajender K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Motiani
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Group, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Archana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Group, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Garima
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Group, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Rangoli
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Group, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Kunal
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3888-2577
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pratap
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, India.
authors.forename: Mohan R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Wani
authors.affiliation: BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune, India.
authors.forename: Suresh B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Gokhale
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Group, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India.|Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Vivek T
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Natarajan
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Group, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India.|Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, New Delhi, India.|National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Rajesh S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Gokhale
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002020:Buffaloes; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004817:Epidermis / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D014820:Vitiligo / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*
keywords: animal model; buffalo; molecular studies; ultrastructural changes; vitiligo