ArticleImmunity, inflammation and disease2022
Imiquimod induced vitiligo-like lesions-A consequence of modified melanocyte function.
Article in Immunity, inflammation and disease, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- The immunology of vitiligo.Nature reviews. Immunology · 2026Review
- NGR-modified curcumin nanovesicles reverse immunotherapy resistance in triple-negative breast cancer via TLR9 and mTOR pathway modulation.Cell biology and toxicology · 2025Article
- Implication of Immunobiological Function of Melanocytes in Dermatology.Clinical reviews in allergy & immunology · 2025Review
- Drug-induced vitiligo: a real-world pharmacovigilance analysis of the FAERS database.PloS one · 2025Article
- Diagnosis and Management of Dermatologic Adverse Events from Systemic Melanoma Therapies.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2023Review
- Imiquimod induced vitiligo-like lesions-A consequence of modified melanocyte function.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionImiquimod plays an important role in the management of condyloma and premalignant lesions. Successively, an increase of hypopigmented lesions following imiquimod application has been reported. However, the mechanisms of imiquimod on melanocytes remain unclear. This study was designed to assess the effect of Imiquimod on the functions of melanocytes in vitro.
methodsPrimary cultured melanocytes were isolated from normal control skin tissue. After incubation with imiquimod for 48 h in vitro, cell viability was analyzed by cell counting kit-8 assay. Apoptosis was detected using the Annexin V-fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate flow cytometry assay. Melanin content and tyrosinase activity in melanocytes were measured by colorimetric method and the modified dopachrome method. The production of inflammatory cytokine interleukin 8 (IL-8), IL-6, and soluble ICAM-1 (soluble Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1[sICAM-1]) in melanocytes were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7), toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) protein, and autophagy-related proteins microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 (LC3-II), p62, mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), and Atg5 were assessed using western blot analysis.
resultsImiquimod significantly inhibited the activity of tyrosinase activity and decreased melanin content in melanocytes and significantly increased apoptosis and IL-6, IL-8, and sICAM-1 production in melanocytes. Moreover, the expression of TLR7 and TLR9 proteins were significantly increased, and the expression of mTOR, p62 protein were markedly decreased, but the expression of LC3II/I and Atg5 protein were significantly increased in melanocytes after incubating with imiquimod.
conclusionsThis study shows that imiquimod directly inhibits melanogenesis and increases melanocyte apoptosis rates. These effects combined with the upregulation of TLR7 and TLR9 together with increased autophagy activity and inflammatory cytokines production, might be the main reasons leading to hypopigmented lesions after imiquimod application.
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