Issues

Cover picture: Immunohistochemical stain of MART-1 antigen in skin biopsies of a patient before and after infusion of MART-1­specific CD8⁺ T cell clones. After the infusion, this patient developed inflammatory lesions circumscribing areas of pigmentation on her skin. The infused MART-1­specific T cell clone was recovered from an intense lymphocytic infiltrate centered around the dermal­epidermal junction. In preinfusion sample (left), abundant MART-1 expression is seen among normal melanocytes lining the dermal­epidermal junction. In the postinfusion sample (right) obtained 3 wk later, melanocytes are absent, but residual melanin pigment remains among scavenging melanophages. Destruction of normal melanocytes by antigen-specific T cells targeting a tumor-associated self-protein, such as MART-1, is suggested as a mechanism for vitiligo seen in patients with melanoma receiving immunotherapy. See related article in this issue by Yee et al., pp. 1637-1643. Photo by P. Roche.