AUTHOR=Willemsen Marcella , Melief Cornelis J. M. , Bekkenk Marcel W. , Luiten Rosalie M. 

TITLE=Targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 Axis in Human Vitiligo

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2020

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.579022

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2020.579022

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=Autoreactive CD8+ T cells play a pivotal role in melanocyte destruction in autoimmune vitiligo. Immunotherapy for melanoma often leads to autoimmune side-effects, among which vitiligo-like depigmentation, indicating that targeting immune checkpoints can break peripheral tolerance against self-antigens in the skin. Therapeutically enhancing immune checkpoint expression on immune cells or skin cells making self-reactive T cells anergic, seems a promising therapeutic option for vitiligo. Here we review the current knowledge on the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in vitiligo as new therapeutic target for vitiligo therapy.