Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells as a Key Player in the Initiation Phase of Alopecia Areata-Induced C3H/HeJ Mouse

September 2016 in “ Journal of Dermatological Science ”

Taisuke Ito, Takahiro Suzuki, Jun-ichi Sakabe, Akihiro Funakoshi, Y. Tokura

alopecia areata type I interferon IFN-α plasmacytoid dendritic cells pDCs C3H/HeJ mice IL-2 IL-7 IL-15 hair follicles H-2k CXCL10 vibrissae AA interferon alpha hair loss immune cells cytokines

TLDR Plasmacytoid dendritic cells, which overproduce IFN-α, may play a crucial role in starting alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease causing hair loss.

The study, conducted 6 years ago, focused on the role of type I interferon (IFN-α) in the initiation of alopecia areata (AA), a tissue-specific autoimmune disease. The researchers generated AA-induced C3H/HeJ mice through intra-dermal injection of activated lymph node cells with IL-2, IL-7, and IL-15. They found that IFN-α producing plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) were densely distributed around hair follicles in both lesion and non-lesional skin from these mice. The frequency of pDCs increased in skin-infiltrated cells of non-lesional skin from C3H/HeJ mice with AA. In vitro studies showed that IFN-α inhibited hair elongation and upregulated H-2k and CXCL10 expression in cultured murine vibrissae. The researchers concluded that pDCs may play an important role in the initiation of AA by overexpressing IFN-α.

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research Gene Expression of Osteopontin in Alopecia Areata: A Case-Controlled Study

1 citations, October 2014 in “Skin Pharmacology and Physiology”

People with alopecia areata have higher levels of osteopontin, which might be important in the disease's development, but this doesn't relate to how severe the disease is.