Heat treatment increases the incidence of alopecia areata in the C3H/HeJ mouse model.
Alopecia areata (AA) is a common autoimmune disease characterized by non-scarring hair loss. Previous studies have demonstrated an association between AA and physiological/psychological stress. In this study, we investigated the effects of heat treatment, a physiological stress, on AA development in C3H/HeJ mice. Whereas this strain of mice are predisposed to AA at low incidence by 18 months of age, we observed a significant increase in the incidence of hair loss in heat-treated 8-month-old C3H/HeJ mice compared with sham-treated mice. Histological analysis detected mononuclear cell infiltration in anagen hair follicles, a characteristic of AA, in heat-treated mouse skin. As expected, increased expression of induced HSPA1A/B (formerly called HSP70i) was detected in skin samples from heat-treated mice. Importantly, increased HSPA1A/B expression was also detected in skin samples from C3H/HeJ mice that developed AA spontaneously. Our results suggest that induction of HSPA1A/B may precipitate the development of AA in C3H/HeJ mice. For future studies, the C3H/HeJ mice with heat treatment may prove a useful model to investigate stress response in AA.
Wikramanayake
Tongyu Cao
TC
Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1600 NW 10th Avenue, RMSB 2023A, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
Alvarez-Connelly
Elizabeth
E
Simon
Jessica
J
Mauro
Lucia M
LM
Guzman
Javier
J
Elgart
George
G
Schachner
Lawrence A
LA
Chen
Juan
J
Plano
Lisa R
LR
Jimenez
Joaquin J
JJ
D000506:Alopecia Areata / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006358:Hot Temperature; D015994:Incidence; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D013312:Stress, Physiological
D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins