Hair Follicle Dystrophy in a Litter of Domestic Cats Resembling Lanceolate Hair Mutant Mice

January 2021 in “ Veterinary dermatology ”

Ana Rostaher, S. V. Bettenay, Lisa Specht, Kathleen A. Silva, Lesley Bechtold, Chen Chen Jiang, M. Majzoub, Ralf S. Mueller, John P. Sundberg

hair follicle dystrophy lanceolate hair noninflammatory alopecia trichothiodystrophy hair shaft abnormalities skin abnormalities sulfur content hair tip defects hair loss hair defects

Studysummary This study describes a rare form of congenital alopecia in domestic short hair cats, characterized by hair shaft defects and follicular dystrophy similar to those seen in certain mutant mouse strains. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

The study described a rare congenital hair shaft anomaly in a litter of four domestic shorthair (DSH) cats, which resembled the lanceolate hair phenotype seen in certain mutant mice. The affected cats exhibited progressive, non-inflammatory alopecia. Histopathological evaluation, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray element analysis revealed structural defects in the hair shafts and follicles, including swollen hair shafts and a significant reduction in sulfur content, indicative of trichothiodystrophy. These findings were comparable to those observed in mutant mice with specific genetic mutations in adhesion or keratin genes. The study highlighted a unique form of congenital alopecia resulting in follicular dystrophy in cats.

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