As we know, Alopecia Areata is disease where the person’s own immune system attacks their hair follicles. This self-attack is known as autoimmunity. However, much was still unknown about the specifics of this immune attack. In this study, the immune cells involved in the attack were identified, and their roles in disease progression were further explored. Among the many cells in our immune system, there are two very key players in the initiation and progression of Alopecia Areata: CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells.
Normally, CD4+ T cells are responsible for activating other immune cells and enhancing the immune response to foreign invaders like pathogens, whereas CD8+ T cells are responsible for destroying foreign invaders. In the case of Alopecia Areata, it appears that initially both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells elicit an immune response leading to Alopecia Areata. However, the CD8+ T cells appear to be the only cells to enter the hair follicles and elicit an even stronger immune response. In mice, it was determined that CD8+ T cells alone were able to induce Alopecia Areata, which may suggest that these cells are the primary cells responsible for disease initiation and progression. These findings are very important in Alopecia Areata research because now further work can be done to determine why these specific cells attack the hair follicles, as well as find ways to inhibit the CD4+ and CD8+ T cell autoimmune response.
Link to full article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5148616/
