RELEVANCE
Transplantation of autologous melanocytes is a promising trend in the treatment of vitiligo. The signaling protein Wnt1 plays an important role in the formation of melanin. Activation of the Wnt signaling pathway is one of the mechanisms for the restoration of pigmentation in vitiligo foci during treatment.
THE PURPOSE
Evaluation of the effectiveness of the use of autologous non-cultured melanocyte transplantation methods in the treatment of vitiligo, taking into account the expression level of the signaling protein Wnt1 in the skin.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The study included 113 patients with non-segmental and segmental vitiligo. 63 patients underwent transplantation of Non-Cultured Epidermal Cell Suspension (NCECS), in 50 patients — transplantation of NCECS and Non-Cultured Outer Root Sheath Hair Follicle Cell Suspension (NCORSHFS). In 70 patients and 10 healthy individuals, immunohistochemical studies of the Wnt1 protein expression in skin biopsies were carried out.
RESULTS
A statistically significant increase in the area of pigmentation in vitiligo foci after the treatment was established: in the NCECS transplantation group, the proportion of repigmentation was 63.2%, in the NCECS + NCORSHFS transplantation group — 85.9%. In the course of immunohistochemical studies carried out before treatment, in biopsies of depigmented skin and hair follicles of the occipital region of the scalp, a lower number of Wnt1+-cells (2 and 39%, respectively) was revealed compared to the group of healthy individuals (52.5%; p<0,01). After treatment in the NCECS transplantation group, no changes in Wnt1 protein expression in the transplant area were observed, whereas in the NCECS + NCORSHFS transplantation group, the number of Wnt1+-cells in the transplantation area was 20 times higher than that in the depigmented skin of patients examined before treatment (41 and 2%, respectively), however, statistically significantly different from the value of the indicator in the control group (p<0.01).
CONCLUSION
The high efficiency of the use of melanocytic transplantation methods in the treatment of vitiligo with the use of non-cultured cell suspensions has been established. The detected changes in the expression of the Wnt1 protein in the skin of patients indicate its important role in the pathogenesis of vitiligo and melanogenesis processes.
