Melanocyte transplantation is a fast and effective method for the treatment of vitiligo, which is suitable for stable vitiligo where traditional methods of treatment have failed.
In 1987, Lemer et al. first applied cultured autologous melanocyte transplantation to treat vitiligo successfully, and more research and treatment experiences have been conducted since then. However, the special proliferation conditions of melanocytes and the instability of cell suspension flow during transplantation have limited the clinical application of cultured melanocyte transplantation.
Currently, skin tissue engineering methods applied to vitiligo treatment are receiving increasing attention. When the tissue engineering principle is applied to transplantation for vitiligo, the cells to be transplanted are first compounded onto some kind of scaffolding material, and then the compounded cells are covered cell side down onto the graft bed of the white spot area and routinely bandaged. The use of this method both avoids the flow of cell suspension and provides a good environment for the growth of melanocytes in the transplantation area. Sung-Jall Lin et al. found that melanocytes cultured on the surface of chitosan formed melanocyte spheres under high-density conditions and had a good survival rate and maintained biological activity in the absence of nutrients such as growth factors and serum; when the melanocyte spheres were then When the melanocyte spheres are inoculated on the skin surface, they can still revert to physiological dendritic melanocytes. The use of chitosan melanocyte membrane transplantation for vitiligo is a promising method that not only increases the survival rate of melanocyte transplantation, but also simplifies the cell preparation and transplantation process. It is promising to be able to treat large lesions with a small amount of donor area and solve the problems such as cobblestone-like manifestation of epidermal transplantation. Recently, related work has also been carried out in China, although tissue engineering autologous cultured melanocyte transplantation is costly and technically demanding, but it is encouraging both in terms of clinical efficacy and cosmetic effect, and is another new treatment option for many vitiligo patients with urgent cosmetic requirements.