Loading...
The depigmenting agent monobenzone kills melanocytes. We take advantage of this mechanism to depigment nonvitiliginous areas in extensive vitiligo, rendering the skin a more uniform (albeit white) color. Toxicity has been the presumed mechanism of action, but because monobenzone can induce dermatitis before depigmentation in pigmented but not in depigmented skin, an immunologic, autoimmune-like process rather than a toxic one may be at work. Researchers performed two studies to examine whether this immune assault could be used to kill malignant melanoma cells.
Monobenzone increased melanocyte and melanoma cell immunogenicity in cell cultures by forming quinone haptens to tyrosinase protein, which inactivated tyrosinase, stopped pigment synth…