Gut Bacteria May Be the Key to a More Effective Vitiligo Treatment
A new therapeutic approach could bring hope to people with vitiligo. An experimental treatment has shown excellent results in mice with the disease and uses a natural substance produced by beneficial gut bacteria.
Understanding Vitiligo
Vitiligo is an autoimmune condition that destroys melanocytes, the cells responsible for producing melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color. The absence of these cells results in white patches on the skin, which, although not harmful to health, affect a person’s appearance.
Although treatments such as steroid creams exist, they are not always effective and may cause unwanted side effects.
Recent research suggests that vitiligo-affected tissue presents an imbalance in the skin’s microbiota. Specifically, there is a deficiency of beneficial probiotic bacteria, which protect melanocytes, and an excess of harmful bacteria such as Streptococcus.
A Probiotic-Based Solution
Based on these findings, scientists at Northwestern University investigated the potential of the probiotic bacterium Bacillus subtilis, found in the gut and soil. They modified this bacterium to produce increased amounts of exopolysaccharides (EPS), bioactive molecules known to reduce unwanted immune responses.
In laboratory tests with mice that had vitiligo, one group received weekly EPS injections for 18 weeks, while another group remained untreated. By the end of the experiment, the treated mice showed a 74% reduction in pigment loss on their backs, while the untreated group showed no improvement.
Tissue analysis revealed that the skin of treated mice had a 63.6% reduction in cytotoxic T cells, which destroy melanocytes. Additionally, there was a 1.7-fold increase in regulatory T cells, which protect melanocytes.
Expert Perspective on the Findings
“The results in our model were astonishing,” said Professor I. Caroline Le Poole, senior author of the study. “Administering the microbial compound weekly to vitiligo-prone mice significantly suppressed disease progression, making a remarkable difference in an aggressive model of the condition.”
The next steps in the research involve testing the treatment’s effectiveness in humans and assessing how long its effects last. In the future, EPS may be administered as an ointment or dietary supplement, eliminating the need for weekly injections.
Read the original article on: New Atlas
Read more: Immunotherapy Offers Hope for Autoimmune Skin Diseases
