Involvement of ILC1-Like Innate Lymphocytes in Human Autoimmunity: Lessons from Alopecia Areata

February 2023 in “ eLife ”

Rimma Laufer Britva, Aviad Keren, Marta Bertolini, Yehuda Ullmann, Ralf Paus, Amos Gilhar

alopecia areata ILC1-like innate lymphocytes hair follicle regression immune privilege collapse CD8+ T cells IFN-γ anagen phase catagen phase hair loss AA ILC1lc interferon gamma

Studysummary This study indicates that innate lymphoid cells-type 1 may provoke alopecia areata by disrupting hair follicle immune privilege and inducing characteristic lesions, challenging the view that alopecia areata is purely an autoantigen-dependent, T cell-driven condition. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

The study investigated the role of ILC1-like innate lymphocytes (ILC1lc) in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata (AA), revealing that these cells were significantly increased around hair follicles in AA patients and could induce AA hallmarks such as hair follicle regression and immune privilege collapse. The research challenged the traditional view that AA is solely driven by CD8+ T cells, highlighting the involvement of innate immune cells. ILC1lc were shown to induce hair follicle damage through IFN-γ secretion, accelerating the transition from anagen to catagen phase, and causing hair loss in humanized mouse models. The study involved 20 healthy donors for ex vivo experiments and 5 donors for in vivo experiments, suggesting that targeting ILC1lc could be a potential therapeutic approach for AA.

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