Targeting iHSP 70 in vitiligo: a critical step for cure?

The group of Caroline Le Poole has produced a series of elegant papers suggesting an innovative rationale for the treatment of vitiligo by limiting native iHSP70 expression, with subsequent blockade of DC activation and melanocyte loss via T-cell-specific autoimmune responses. The proof of concept was made in a mouse model of the use of a mutant iHSP70 blunting this response. The comment emphasizes that in vitiligo, a skin and possibly epidermal defect underlies the initial steps leading to inflammation and subsequent melanocyte demise and discusses the relevance of targeting iHSP in this context.