Autoimmune hair loss (alopecia areata) transferred by T lymphocytes to human scalp explants on SCID mice.
Alopecia areata is a tissue-restricted autoimmune disease of the hair follicle, which results in hair loss and baldness. It is often psychologically devastating. The role of T lymphocytes in this disorder was investigated with cell transfer experiments. Scalp explants from patients were transplanted to severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice and injected with autologous T lymphocytes isolated from involved scalp. T lymphocytes which had been cultured with hair follicle homogenate along with antigen-presenting cells were capable of inducing the changes of alopecia areata, including hair loss and perifollicular infiltrates of T cells, along with HLA-DR and ICAM-1 expression of the follicular epithelium. Similar changes were not noted in grafts injected with scalp-derived T cells that had not been cultured with follicular homogenate. These data indicate that alopecia areata is mediated by T cells which recognize a follicular autoantigen.
Gilhar
A
A
Skin Research Laboratory, The Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 31096, Israel. gilhar@techunix.technion.ac.il
Ullmann
Y
Y
Berkutzki
T
T
Assy
B
B
Kalish
R S
RS
D000328:Adult; D000506:Alopecia Areata / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006801:Humans; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D012535:Scalp / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000637:transplantation; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000637:transplantation
D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1