| First Author | Gilhar A | Year | 1998 |
| Journal | J Clin Invest | Volume | 101 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 62-7 |
| PubMed ID | 9421466 | Mgi Jnum | J:45611 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1195766 | Doi | 10.1172/JCI551 |
| Citation | Gilhar A, et al. (1998) Autoimmune hair loss (alopecia areata) transferred by T lymphocytes to human scalp explants on SCID mice. J Clin Invest 101(1):62-7 |
| abstractText | 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. |