Analysis of CD8+TCR & beta; Chain repertoire in peripheral blood of vitiligo via high-throughput sequencing

Vitiligo is an autoimmune depigmentation dermatosis induced by melanocyte destruction, and CD8+ T cells play a pivotal role in melanocyte destruction. However, an accurate profile of the CD8+ T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire in vitiligo patients has not been reported, and the clonotype features of the involved CD8+ T cells remain largely unknown. This study aimed to assess the TCRll chain repertoire diversity and composition of blood in nine nonsegmental vitiligo patients via high-throughput sequencing. Vitiligo patients manifested a low TCRll repertoire diversity with highly expanded clones. Differential usage of TRBV, the TRBJ gene, and the TRBV/TRBJ combination were compared between patients with vitiligo and healthy controls. A set of TRBV/ TRBJ combinations could differentiate patients with vitiligo from healthy controls (area under the curve = 0.9383, 95% CI: 0.8167-1.00). Our study revealed distinct TCRll repertoires of CD8+ T cells in patients with vitiligo and will help explore novel immune biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for vitiligo.

Automated summary

This study assessed the TCRβ repertoire diversity and composition of CD8+ T cells in blood of 9 nonsegmental vitiligo patients via high-throughput sequencing. Vitiligo patients showed low TCRβ diversity with highly expanded clones. Differential usage of TRBV, the TRBJ gene, and the TRBV/TRBJ combination were observed between vitiligo patients and healthy controls. A set of TRBV/TRBJ combinations could differentiate vitiligo patients from healthy controls. This study revealed distinct TCRβ repertoires of CD8+ T cells in vitiligo and may contribute to the exploration of immune biomarkers and therapeutic targets.