In-vivo optical microscopy and single cell transcriptomics approaches provide insights into therapeutic response of vitiligo

Vitiligo is an immune skin disorder consisting of depigmented skin patches caused by the destruction of epidermal melanocytes. Vitiligo treatment represents a clinical challenge since the re-pigmentation mechanism is not fully understood. In this pilot study, we employ in-vivo multiphoton microscopy to evaluate epidermal keratinocyte metabolic state before and during treatment, in-vivo reflectance confocal microscopy to track melanocyte migration after treatment initiation, and single cell transcriptomics to identify unique cell populations more abundant in stable vitiligo lesions compared to normal skin. The findings provide insights into the role of certain cell populations in the viability of micro-grafting treatments.