Characterization of lymphocyte surface markers in patients with vitiligo.

It was demonstrated that all vitiligo patients, independently of the disease stage, have a significant decrease in the total number of T cells and an elevated level of peripheral blood lymphocytes and activated natural killers (CD56). The low level of T lymphocytes is associated with the increase in the number of CD3(+)4(+)8(+) cells, which are characterized by a faster apoptosis induction. The elevated level of B lymphocytes in peripheral blood in vitiligo is due to the significant increase in the number of B cells of all the stages of differentiation, suggesting a general activation of the whole B-cell immunity. Perhaps, it is associated with the continuous stimulations of B cells by the type 2 helper lymphocytes. The Th2 lymphocyte mediators, including IL-4, do not only stimulate of B-cell immunity, but also regulate maturation of NK cells. It is typical for vitiligo that the level of mature B cells responsible for Ig synthesis (CD38(+), mIgM(+), mIgG(+)) stays elevated even in remission. Moreover, a considerable increase in the number of peripheral blood lymphocytes expressing the adhesion receptor CD54 is observed, which most likely reflects that the blood lymphocytes are highly prepared for tissue migration.