Predominant Expression of Interleukin-17 in Chronic Alopecia Areata Compared to IFN-γ in Pathogenic Th17 Cells, Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells and Natural Killer Cells

January 2023 in “ JEADV Clinical Practice ”

Ho‐Jin Kim, Jung‐Hwan Kim, Yu‐Ri Cho, Hyeok‐Jin Kwon, Jung‐Ho Yoon, Ki‐Ho Kim

alopecia areata interleukin-17 IL-17 IFN-γ Foxp3+ regulatory T cells CD8+ CD69+ tissue-resident memory T cells hair bulge hair bulb hair follicle stem cells chronic alopecia areata interferon gamma regulatory T cells memory T cells

TLDR IL-17 is more important than IFN-γ in causing severe hair loss in chronic alopecia areata.

This study investigated the role of different immune cells in the pathogenesis of chronic alopecia areata (AA) by analyzing 367 patients. It was found that the number of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells decreased with increasing severity of AA, while CD8+ CD69+ tissue-resident memory T cells increased. Interleukin (IL)-17 was predominantly expressed around the hair bulge and bulb in more severe cases, suggesting it plays a significant role in chronic AA pathogenesis. In contrast, IFN-γ was only present in less severe cases. The findings indicate that IL-17 may be more crucial than IFN-γ in the progression of chronic AA, contributing to the destruction of hair follicle stem cells and resulting in severe hair loss.

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