Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons^™

Assessment Of Melanocyte-Specific Primary And Memory Autoimmune Responses In Vitiligo-Prone Smyth And Vitiligo-Susceptible, Non-Expressing Brown Line Chickens, Daniel Morales Falcon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Vitiligo is an acquired de-pigmentation disorder characterized by the post-natal loss of epidermal melanocytes (pigment-producing cells) resulting in the appearance of white patches in the skin. The Smyth line of chicken is the only model for vitiligo that shares all the characteristics of the human condition including: spontaneous post-natal loss of melanocytes, interactions between genetic, environmental and immunological factors and associations with other autoimmune diseases. In addition, an avian model for vitiligo has the added benefit of an easily accessible target tissue (a growing feather) that allows for the repeated sampling of an individual and thus the continuous monitoring of …