TLDR Poor response to topical immunotherapy in alopecia areata patients is linked to impaired cell responses.
The study investigated the relationship between clinical responses to topical immunotherapy and the in vitro proliferative responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to T-cell stimulants in 67 alopecia areata (AA) patients and 14 healthy controls. It was found that PBMC from AA patients who responded well to immunotherapy exhibited normal proliferation levels, while those from poor responders showed significantly suppressed proliferative responses and interleukin (IL)-2 production, but increased IL-4 production compared to controls. This suggested that the proliferative response of PBMC to T-cell stimulants could serve as an indicator of the clinical effectiveness of topical immunotherapy for AA.
127 citations,
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