title: Surgical methods for full-thickness skin grafts to induce alopecia areata in C3H/HeJ mice.
abstract: Alopecia areata is a cell-mediated autoimmune disease of humans and many domestic and laboratory animal species. C3H/HeJ inbred mice spontaneously develop alopecia areata at a low frequency (approximately 20% by 12 mo of age). Transferring full-thickness skin grafts from affected, older mice to young mice of the same strain reliably reproduces alopecia areata, thus enabling investigators to study disease pathogenesis or intervention with a variety of therapeutic approaches. We here describe in detail how to perform full-thickness skin grafts and the follow-up procedures necessary to consistently generate mice with alopecia areata. These engrafted mice can be used to study the pathogenesis of cell-mediated autoimmune disease and for drug-efficacy trials. This standard protocol can be used for many other purposes when studying abnormal skin phenotypes in laboratory mice.
authors.affiliation: The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA.
authors.forename: Kathleen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Sundberg
mesh_terms: D000506:Alopecia Areata / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*