title: Therapy for alopecia areata in mice using parathyroid hormone agonists and antagonists, linked to a collagen-binding domain.
abstract: Alopecia areata is a common form of hair loss in which autoimmune-mediated destruction of hair follicles causes patchy hair loss, for which there is no adequate therapy. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) induces the hair cycle and promotes hair growth. PTH-CBD is a fusion protein of PTH and a bacterial collagen-binding domain (CBD), leading to targeted delivery to and retention in the skin collagen. We tested the effects of a single dose of PTH-CBD (low or high dose) on an animal model for alopecia areata, the C3H/HeJ engrafted mouse. In all the treated animals, there was a rapid (1-4 days) increase in hair growth, with sustained effects observed over a 2-month period (7/10 total treated mice<40% hair loss based on gray scale analysis, vs. 2/5 in vehicle control animals). Histological examination revealed massive stimulation of anagen VI hair follicles in treated animals despite an ongoing immune response. PTH-CBD thus shows promise as a therapy for alopecia areata, likely in conjunction with a mild immune suppressant, such as hydrocortisone cream.
authors: Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, New York, USA.
authors: Ranjitha
authors: R
authors: Katikaneni
authors: Rohan
authors: R
authors: Gulati
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Suh
authors: Joshua
authors: J
authors: Sakon
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: Seymour
authors: Tulasi
authors: T
authors: Ponnapakkam
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Gensure
mesh_terms: D000506:Alopecia Areata / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000254:growth & development*; D018859:Hair Follicle / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone / Q000819:agonists* / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: C000591831:PTH-CBD fusion protein; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins