Vitiligo study may herald a breakthrough

Scientists have discovered a connection between a gene and the chronic skin condition vitiligo, as well as a possible link to an array of other autoimmune diseases.

The finding was the result of collaboration between St George’s, University of London, the University of Colorado and the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes.

The study analysed two independent groups of families from the US and UK. Researchers began with a study of vitiligo, which causes loss of skin pigmentation. They found that people with vitiligo also have a risk of developing other autoimmune diseases, as do their close relatives. The team also discovered that NALP1 — a gene that controls part of the immune system that alerts the body to viral and bacterial attacks — was a key gene involved in predisposing people to vitiligo and all the other autoimmune diseases that ran in these families.

Dorothy Bennett, Professor of Cell Biology at St George’s, said: “The findings give us a clue to why the immune system attacks one of the body’s own tissues: if the sensor NALP1 is over-reactive, it could trigger a response to the wrong stimulus.”

Dr Richard Spritz of the University of Colorado added: “If NALP1 turns out to be one of the major genes involved in numerous autoimmune diseases, we may have the chance to treat many disorders like vitiligo, lupus and psoriasis.”

The study was published in the March 22 2007 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine.