Vitiligo

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Vitiligo is a common depigmenting skin disorder classified as an autoimmune disease. Its prevalence is estimated to range from 0.5% to 2% of the global population, affecting both adults and children.

Vitiligo is characterized by the selective loss of melanocytes, leading to depigmentation in the affected skin areas. A typical lesion appears as a completely amelanotic, non-scaly, chalky-white macule with well-defined margins. Vitiligo has a multifactorial pathogenesis involving environmental triggers, genetic factors, oxidative stress, immune dysregulation, and melanocyte detachment.

Recently, the FDA approved a JAK inhibitor as topical and oral treatment for vitiligo. While these and other therapies—such as corticosteroids, topical calcineurin inhibitors, and light therapy—have shown promise, they are not effective for all patients. Moreover, repigmentation can be slow, results may vary across different body areas, and some patients may experience relapse or adverse side effects. Thus, further research is needed to develop new treatments that are more effective, longer-lasting, have fewer side effects, and are safe for use in children.

At QIMA Life Sciences, we support our clients in drug discovery and development by providing advanced solutions for both preclinical and clinical stages.

Interested in learning how we can support your drug discovery and development?

Learn more below.

Related Publications

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS ON VITILIGO

Reliability and agreement testing of a new automated measurement method to determine facial vitiligo extent using standardized ultraviolet images and a dedicated algorithm

Type-1 cytokines regulate MMP-9 production and E-cadherin disruption to promote melanocyte loss in vitiligo

>> Check the full list HERE.

Conference Contributions

We share our research on dermatology and trichology through international conferences and publications, contributing to the advancement of research in these fields.

>> Check our past contributions HERE.

Preclinical Research Solutions for Vitiligo

IN VITRO MODELS

  • NHEK (Normal Human Epidermal Keratinocytes)
  • NHEM (Normal Human Epidermal Melanocytes)
  • NHEM and NHEM co-culture
  • Immune cells from healthy or vitiligo patients
  • RHE (Reconstructed Human Epidermis)
  • RHEm (RHE containing melanocytes)

EX VIVO MODELS

  • Healthy human skin ex vivo
  • Experimentally-induced vitiligo-like phenotype in healthy human skin ex vivo
  • Vitiligo lesional and perilesional human skin ex vivo
  • Fresh whole blood

IN VIVO MODELS

  • In vivo humanized mouse model of vitiligo (developed by Prof. Amos Gilhar at the Skin Research Laboratory (Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel) without financial support or involvement from QIMA Life Sciences)

We can help you evaluate the following readouts

Melanocyte Number

Melanocyte Dendricity

Melanogenesis

Melanin Quantification

Melanosome Transfer

Melanocyte Apoptosis

Immune System Activation

Immune Cell Number

Cytokine Release

…among many others.

Clinical Research Solutions for Vitiligo

BIOANALYSIS OF CLINICAL SAMPLES

  • Non-invasive (swabbing or tape stripping) and invasive (biopsies) sample collection
  • Analysis and quantification of cellular components (proteins, lipids) via analytical chemistry
  • Vitiligo biomarker analysis in tissue, blood and non-invasive collected samples

CLINICAL IMAGING

CLINICAL TRIALS

  • Clinical study implementation
  • Clinical study performance
  • Data management
  • Data analysis

Vitiligo Study Examples

RUXOLITINIB SUPPRESSES TYPE I INTERFERON SIGNALING AND UPREGULATES MELANOCYTE-RELATED GENES IN PERILESIONAL SKIN

Test: Transcriptomic analysis

Method: RNAseq

Model: Diseased skin ex vivo model

Results: Ruxolitinib reduces the expression of genes involved in inflammatory responses and cytokine production in both peri-lesional skin (shown in the figure) and non-lesional skin (data not shown).

OUR PROPIETARY TREATMENT COCKTAIL INDUCES A VITILIGO-LIKE PHENOTYPE IN A SHORT TIME

Method: Immunohistochemistry

Model: Experimentally-induced vitiligo-like phenotype in healthy human skin ex vivo

Results: Treatment with our propietary cocktail induces three of the main molecular mechanisms associated with vitiligo: inflammation (CD3+ and CD3+69+ cells), oxidative stress (data not shown) and melanocyte death (% MITF+ cells).

XENOTRANSPLANTS IN A HUMANIZED MOUSE MODEL OF VITILIGO RECAPITULATE KEY CLINICAL PHENOTYPES OBSERVED IN HUMAN PATIENTS

Model: In vivo humanized mouse model of vitiligo (developed by Prof. Amos Gilhar at the Skin Research Laboratory (Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel) without financial support or involvement from QIMA Life Sciences)

Results: Healthy human skin xenografts, challenged with proprietary stimuli, and injected with sorted CD8+NKG2D+ challenged with proprietary stimuli before and after melanocytic antigen recognition, develop depigmented lesions (shown below). Melanocyte loss, reduced melanin, elevated IFNγ and CXCL10, and immune activation (data not shown) are only some of the key cellular and molecular alterations typical of vitiligo detected in the induced lesions.

AI-BASED TOOL FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE CLINICAL EFFICACY OF VITILIGO TREATMENTS

Test: Facial Vitiligo Extent Quantification

Method: Image capture (ColorFace®) and analysis (Vitil-IA®)

Model: Clinical study on vitiligo patients

Results: Assessment over time by Vitil-IA® of the percentage of depigmentation of the face. Week 0 (baseline: depigmentation of 45.5%; Week 12: depigmentation of 20.9%.

ControlVitiligo-induced
Week 0Week 12

At QIMA Life Sciences, we are committed to staying at the forefront of dermatology research by developing innovative approaches.

We offer smart solutions for studying vitiligo using validated models at both preclinical and clinical stages, making us the perfect partner for your research.

Explore Our Models & Assays in Our Webinar

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What’s New in Testing?

Blog Articles

PRECLINICAL SOLUTIONS

Vitiligo induced ex vivo model

In vivo humanized mouse model of Vitiligo (developed by Prof. Amos Gilhar at the Skin Research Laboratory (Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel) without financial support or involvement from QIMA Life Sciences)

CLINICAL SOLUTIONS

New Solution for Objectively Evaluating the Efficacy of Vitiligo Treatments in Clinical Trials

Exploring Autoimmune Skin Diseases: Insights into Vitiligo, Alopecia Areata, and Psoriasis

Interested in Learning More?

CLINICAL TRIAL EFFICACY WITH VITIL-IA®

WATCH THE SHORT VIDEO

FACE IMAGING SYSTEM: COLORFACE® 

DOWNLOAD THE DATASHEET

VITILIGO

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