134 citations
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July 2020 in “Experimental dermatology” This review discusses immune privilege in anagen hair follicles and its collapse in alopecia areata, emphasizing the importance of restoring this function for effective management and disease relapse prevention.
102 citations
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December 2017 in “The journal of investigative dermatology. Symposium proceedings/The Journal of investigative dermatology symposium proceedings” This review discusses the role of immune privilege collapse in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata, emphasizing the potential for therapeutic manipulation of hair bulb immune privilege to offer new treatment options, and reports no new results.
79 citations
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December 2013 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings” This article proposes that alopecia areata may be caused by immune attacks on hair follicles after an immune privilege collapse, suggesting new therapeutic approaches targeting this immune response pattern.
47 citations
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December 2011 in “Experimental Dermatology” This study suggests that the neuropeptide CGRP may protect against, but not restore, IFNγ-induced collapse of hair follicle immune privilege in alopecia areata.
16 citations
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July 2020 in “International Journal of Molecular Sciences” This study found that ruxolitinib modulated inflammatory changes and stimulated growth factor signals by blocking the JAK-STAT pathway in an in vitro model of alopecia areata.
10 citations
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September 2014 in “European Journal of Dermatology” This case report describes a 29-year-old woman with longstanding alopecia areata who experienced improvement in her scalp hair loss after 7 years of topical treatment with squaric acid dibutylester.
1 citations
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April 2024 in “Journal of Autoimmunity” This study found that rhIL-15 promotes human hair follicle growth and regrowth in experimental settings and may have therapeutic potential for alopecia areata by restoring immune privilege guardianship.
May 2026 in “International Journal of Molecular Sciences” This review highlights emerging evidence that chemotherapy-induced alopecia may be driven by immune mechanisms similar to alopecia areata, involving hair follicle immune privilege collapse, and evaluates Janus kinase inhibitors as potential treatments, while cautioning about their immunosuppressive risks in cancer patients.
January 2026 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study found that human γδTregs promoted hair regrowth and restored hair follicle immune privilege in a model of alopecia areata, suggesting potential for cell-based therapy in autoimmune diseases.
June 2025 in “Academic Medical Journal” This review discusses the mechanisms underlying the collapse of hair follicle immune privilege in alopecia areata and emphasizes the importance of therapeutic strategies aimed at restoring immune tolerance.
November 2022 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study observed that dandruff is linked to a weakened immunoprivilege in hair follicles, with reduced Langerhans cells and increased epidermal CD4+ and CD8+ T cell infiltration.
November 2022 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” This study reported that IL-15 promotes human hair growth and protects hair follicle immune privilege, potentially stabilizing alopecia areata treatment outcomes when selectively stimulating IL-15Rα signaling.
July 2022 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study suggests that interleukin-15 plays a complex role in alopecia areata, potentially contributing to immune infiltration while also protecting against hair follicle immune privilege collapse and promoting hair growth.
April 2021 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study suggests that rather than inhibiting IL-15, selectively stimulating IL-15Ra-mediated signaling could be beneficial for managing alopecia areata and possibly other inflammatory hair loss conditions, as IL-15 promoted hair growth and maintained immune privilege in human hair follicles.
March 2026 in “Frontiers in Medicine” This study provides a framework for understanding different types of alopecias based on immune privilege collapse at specific follicular sites, revealing distinct patterns in immune effector programs and stromal influences depending on the alopecia type.
39 citations
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November 2009 in “Clinical and Experimental Dermatology” This study reports that in primary cicatricial alopecias, increased expression of certain immune markers in the hair-follicle bulge suggests a collapse of immune privilege, which may contribute to follicle destruction.
253 citations
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December 2007 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study suggests that human hair follicles may actively suppress natural killer cells, which contrasts with the observed defects in NK cell regulation in alopecia areata.
36 citations
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April 2016 in “British journal of dermatology/British journal of dermatology, Supplement” This article reviews the role of vasoactive intestinal peptide in maintaining immune privilege in hair follicles and does not report new findings; the authors propose it as essential for immune homeostasis in alopecia areata.
27 citations
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January 2013 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” This study identified somatostatin as a potential secretory factor contributing to the immune privilege of human hair follicles.
21 citations
,
January 2024 in “Science Immunology” This study developed a technique to limit genetic recombination to regulatory T cells to investigate whether self-tolerance is maintained in non-lymphoid tissues, an area previously not well understood.
21 citations
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June 2011 in “Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science” This article argues that human scalp hair follicles could serve as a surrogate model for studying immune privilege in the human eye, offering a novel approach for ocular IP research.
1 citations
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July 2024 in “British Journal of Dermatology” This study found that inhibiting EGFR and MEK in hair follicles may lead to a partial collapse of the immune privilege in the follicles and increased secretion of IL-33.
1 citations
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November 2023 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” Farudodstat may effectively treat alopecia areata without harming hair follicles.
April 2026 in “Frontiers in Medicine” This study found that activating hair follicle resident T cells in a human organ culture can induce an alopecia areata-like immune response, and that the drug farudodstat partially reduced this effect.
In this study, the researchers used a human hair follicle model to demonstrate that T cell stimulation can induce an alopecia areata–like phenotype, with cell proliferation and immune privilege collapse; however, the DHODH inhibitor farudodstat partially mitigated these effects by reducing T cell proliferation.
December 2025 in “International Journal of Dermatology and Venereology” In this review, summarized findings suggest that emerging targeted immunotherapies may offer promising treatment options for alopecia areata by addressing the breakdown of hair follicle immune privilege.
May 2025 in “Journal of the Egyptian Womenʼs Dermatologic Society” This study found that immune privilege is preserved in hair follicles of nonsegmental vitiligo patients compared to those with alopecia areata, potentially protecting follicular melanocytes from autoimmune attacks.
March 2024 in “International Journal of Cosmetic Science” This study observed that dandruff-affected scalp skin has increased T-cell infiltration in the epidermis and a reduction in the hair follicle's physiological immune privilege, particularly in the suprabulbar outer root sheath area, indicating a distinct immune microenvironment compared to healthy scalp.
October 2023 in “bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)” This study demonstrated that disrupting EGFR signaling in mice leads to immune sensitivity compromising the hair follicle's protective environment, but JAK1/2 inhibition can restore this immune privilege and stimulate hair growth, suggesting a potential therapy for scarring hair loss diseases like cicatricial alopecia.
This study found that human hair follicle cells suppress immune activity, with somatostatin playing a significant role, suggesting potential applications for treating inflammatory hair loss conditions.