Immunohistochemical Study Assessing Stem Cell Factor Receptor C-Kit in Patients with Alopecia

In 2019, a study involving 80 alopecia patients and 40 healthy controls was conducted to understand the role of the stem cell factor receptor c-kit in alopecia. The study found that alopecia patients had significantly shorter hair follicles and higher c-kit expression than healthy controls. There was a positive correlation between the intensity and count of c-kit-positive cells per hair follicle and the severity of alopecia, but a negative correlation with the length of hair follicle. The study also found that the length of hair follicles was much shorter in alopecia areata and androgenetic alopecia specimens than in normal specimens. The study concluded that the stem cell factor receptor c-kit was implicated in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata and androgenic alopecia, and it could have a predictive role in progression of alopecia in high-risk patients. However, the study had limitations including a small sample size and a lack of prior research studies on the same topic.