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.
July 2026 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” 
April 2018 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” This study suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction might contribute to the pathogenesis of Lichen planopilaris by triggering a metabolic shift that leads to chronic inflammation and hair follicle damage.
51 citations
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December 2017 in “Skin Appendage Disorders” This review examines the literature on autoimmune hair loss disorders, highlighting the collapse of immune privilege and the potential role of neurogenic stress in this process, but reports no new clinical results.
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.
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.
April 2023 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” This study reported that in mouse models, deletion of EGFR resulted in stem cell hyper-proliferation followed by apoptosis, leading to scarring alopecia, and implicated EGFR's role in maintaining hair follicle quiescence and immune privilege during inflammation.
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.
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.
220 citations
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June 2013 in “The Journal of Pathology” This study found that immune privilege collapse in the hair follicle bulge and associated immune responses may contribute significantly to the pathogenesis of lichen planopilaris, suggesting a potential autoimmune basis for the disease.
November 2022 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” This study implicates EGFR as a critical regulator of immune privilege and stem cell quiescence in hair follicles, suggesting a link between EGFR inhibition and inflammation-driven hair loss during cancer therapy.
13 citations
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May 2005 in “Seminars in Plastic Surgery” This article discusses the cell therapy potential of follicular cell implantation for hair regeneration and reports no new clinical results, emphasizing the role of dermal papilla cells in forming new follicles.
12 citations
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May 2011 in “Dermatologic Clinics” This review discusses the association between scarring alopecia and inflammatory processes in common acquired bullous disorders of the scalp, and reports no new clinical findings.
3 citations
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May 2008 in “Hair transplant forum international” This document includes a brief professional profile of Dr. Ralf Paus but presents no research findings or study results.
August 2026 in “Frontiers in Medicine” This study suggests that low-dose IL-2 and IL-15 may help restore immune tolerance in alopecia areata by maintaining Treg cell function, presenting a potential new treatment strategy.
June 2026 in “Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology” This review outlines the transition from simple hair follicle organoids to immune-competent microphysiological systems, addressing limitations in replicating native hair follicle immune features and discussing their applications in disease modeling and regenerative medicine.
April 2024 in “Frontiers in physiology” This review article examines recent studies on the role of diverse immune cells in forming an active niche for hair follicles, offering new insights into hair growth and related diseases.
1 citations
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April 2024 in “The Journal of Dermatology” This case study reports that a woman with epidermolysis bullosa acquisita experienced severe cicatricial alopecia and total nail loss after discontinuing treatment for two years, highlighting the potential for serious effects if the condition is not managed.
Recent discoveries have improved our understanding of hair loss, but challenges in treatment and knowledge among specialists still exist.
106 citations
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January 2013 in “Clinical and Developmental Immunology” This review discusses the pathogenesis of alopecia areata, highlighting the role of immune privilege collapse in hair follicles but reports no clinical results.
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.
15 citations
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February 2006 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” More research is needed to understand and treat cicatricial alopecias.
2 citations
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June 2022 in “Journal of cosmetic dermatology” This case report highlights the onset of alopecia areata following dupilumab treatment, noting the significant temporal link between the medication use and hair loss occurrence.
150 citations
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October 2010 in “The American Journal of Pathology” This review discusses the pathogenesis and challenges in treating primary cicatricial alopecia, highlighting the need to understand immune protection collapse in hair follicle stem cells; it reports no new clinical results.
7 citations
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November 2018 in “British Journal of Dermatology” Alopecia areata is caused by immune system issues, and JAK inhibitors might help treat it.
4 citations
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May 2021 in “Biomedicines” This review explores the potential role of caveolin-1 in cicatricial alopecia, particularly frontal fibrosing alopecia, and discusses possibilities for targeted therapies without providing new research results.
4 citations
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June 2020 in “JAAD case reports” This study presents a rare case of alopecia totalis occurring after the use of permanent hair dye.
2 citations
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December 2011 in “[Thesis]. Manchester, UK: The University of Manchester; 2011.” The study suggests that immune privilege collapse in bulge cells and the involvement of pro-inflammatory cytokine interferon-γ contribute to hair follicle stem cell loss in lichen planopilaris.
This study found that γδTregs can prevent and treat alopecia areata in a mouse model with human scalp transplants, suggesting potential for cell-based therapies in autoimmune diseases like alopecia.