Editing Vitiligo (section)

=== Immune ===
[[Melanin]] is the pigment that gives skin its color; it is produced by skin cells called [[melanocyte]]s.

Variations in genes that are part of the immune system or part of melanocytes have both been associated with vitiligo.<ref name="Lancet2016" /> It is also thought to be caused by the immune system attacking and destroying the melanocytes of the skin.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/vitiligo/basics/causes/con-20032007|title = Vitiligo Causes | author = Mayo Clinic Staff |publisher = Mayoclinic|date = 15 May 2014|access-date = 22 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150430065653/http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/vitiligo/basics/causes/con-20032007|archive-date = 30 April 2015}}</ref> A genome wide association study found approximately 36 independent susceptibility [[locus (genetics)|loci]] for generalized vitiligo.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Spritz RA | title = Modern vitiligo genetics sheds new light on an ancient disease | journal = The Journal of Dermatology | volume = 40 | issue = 5 | pages = 310–318 | date = May 2013 | pmid = 23668538 | pmc = 3783942 | doi = 10.1111/1346-8138.12147 }}</ref>

The TYR gene encodes the protein [[tyrosinase]], which is not a component of the immune system but is an enzyme of the melanocyte that catalyzes melanin biosynthesis, and a major [[autoantigen]] in generalized vitiligo.<ref name="Lancet2016" />