Melanocytes are static, minimally proliferative cells. This leaves them vulnerable in vitiligo. Yet upon malignant transformation, they form vicious tumors. This profound switch in physiology is accompanied by genetic change and is driven by environmental factors. If UV exposure in younger years supports malignant transformation and melanoma formation, it can likewise impart mutations on melanocytes that reduce their viability, to initiate vitiligo. A wide variety of microbes can influence these diametrically opposed outcomes before either disease takes hold. These microbes are vehicles of change that we are only beginning to study. Once a genetic modification occurs, there is a wide variety of immune cells ready to respond. Though it does not act alone, the T cell is among the most decisive responders in this process. The same biochemical process that offered the skin protection by producing melanin can become an Achilles heel for the cell when the T cells target melanosomal enzymes or, on occasion, neoantigens. T cells are precise, determined, and consequential when they strike. Here, we probe the relationship between the microbiome and its metabolites, epithelial integrity, and the activation of T cells that target benign and malignant melanocytes in vitiligo and melanoma.

中文翻译：

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迈伦戈登奖论文：微生物、T 细胞多样性和色素沉着

黑素细胞是静态的、增殖最少的细胞。这使他们容易患白癜风。然而，在恶性转化时，它们会形成恶性肿瘤。这种生理学上的深刻转变伴随着基因变化，并由环境因素驱动。如果年轻时的紫外线照射支持恶性转化和黑色素瘤的形成，它同样可以使黑色素细胞发生突变，从而降低它们的活力，从而引发白癜风。在任何一种疾病发生之前，各种各样的微生物都会影响这些截然相反的结果。这些微生物是我们才刚刚开始研究的变革载体。一旦发生基因改造，就会有各种各样的免疫细胞准备好做出反应。虽然它不是单独行动，但 T 细胞是这一过程中最具决定性的反应者之一。当 T 细胞靶向黑素体酶或有时靶向新抗原时，通过产生黑色素提供皮肤保护的相同生化过程可能成为细胞的致命弱点。T 细胞在攻击时是精确的、确定的和重要的。在这里，我们探讨了微生物组与其代谢物、上皮完整性以及针对白癜风和黑色素瘤中良性和恶性黑色素细胞的 T 细胞的激活之间的关系。