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Alopecia Areata

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Clinical and Basic Immunodermatology

Abstract

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by targeting of the hair follicle. Clinically, patients exhibit nonscarring hair loss with varying presentations across all age groups and follow an unpredictable course. Our understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms underlying AA has been greatly enhanced by recent large scale studies of genetic associations of disease. Descriptive studies in humans in tandem with mechanistic experiments in mice have helped define cellular and soluble disease drivers at the level of the end-organ target, the hair follicle, as well as the immune system.In AA, those mechanisms that protect the hair follicle from immune attack and maintain the immune privileged status of this site become disrupted and allow autoreactive cytotoxic immune cells to recognize and respond to self-antigens associated with the hair follicle.Our enhanced understanding of the disease has led to the identification of new therapeutic targets for AA.In particular, targeting of JAK molecules, proximal intermediates that transduce ligand binding signals for a wide variety of cytokine receptors, have shown promise in the treatment of this disease in animals models and humans.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Columbia University, 1150 St. Nicholas Avenue Rm 307, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Ali Jabbari MD, PhD

  2. Department of Dermatology and Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Lynn Petukhova PhD

  3. Department of Dermatology and Genetics & Development, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Angela M. Christiano PhD

Authors
  1. Ali Jabbari MD, PhD
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  2. Lynn Petukhova PhD
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  3. Angela M. Christiano PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ali Jabbari MD, PhD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Anthony A. Gaspari

  2. Department of Dermatology, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, USA

    Stephen K. Tyring

  3. Department of Dermatology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Daniel H. Kaplan

Questions

Questions

  1. 1.

    A class of medications that has recently shown promise in AA:

    1. A.

      NSAIDs

    2. B.

      TNF inhibitors

    3. C.

      Interferons

    4. D.

      JAK inhibitors

    5. E.

      ACE inhibitors

  2. 2.

    These cells are not commonly found in the peribulbar infiltrate in skin biopsies sections of AA lesions:

    1. A.

      Plasma cells

    2. B.

      CD4 T cells

    3. C.

      CD8 T cells

    4. D.

      NK cells

    5. E.

      Macrophages

  3. 3.

    Activation of this pathway is associated with enhanced immune responses to the hair follicle:

    1. A.

      Interferon-γ

    2. B.

      IL-2

    3. C.

      TGF-β

    4. D.

      all of the above

    5. E.

      A and B only

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Jabbari, A., Petukhova, L., Christiano, A.M. (2017). Alopecia Areata. In: Gaspari, A., Tyring, S., Kaplan, D. (eds) Clinical and Basic Immunodermatology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29785-9_29

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