Editor's Evaluation: Involvement of ILC1-Like Innate Lymphocytes in Human Autoimmunity, Lessons from Alopecia Areata
September 2022
TLDR ILC1-like cells can independently cause alopecia areata by affecting hair follicles.
The study investigates the role of ILC1-like innate lymphocytes (ILC1lc) in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata (AA), revealing that these cells can independently trigger AA by inducing hair follicle regression and immune privilege collapse. Researchers found a significant increase of ILC1lc around hair follicles in AA patients, and experiments showed that these cells, when co-cultured with stressed human scalp hair follicles, induced AA characteristics. Blocking NKG2D or neutralizing IFNγ counteracted these effects. The study challenges the view that AA is solely a CD8+ T cell-driven autoimmune disease and highlights the importance of innate immune cells in AA pathobiology. The research involved scalp samples from 20 healthy donors and utilized both ex vivo and in vivo models to demonstrate the pathogenic effects of ILC1lc on hair follicles.
