Alopecia areata (AA), a hair-loss disease often considered similar to psoriasis because of the inflammation and T-cell involvement, shares many genetic associations with a broad spectrum of autoimmune diseases, according to a study appearing in the July 1 issue of Nature.
Hair loss in AA results from “collapse of immune privilege” in hair follicles, such that a person’s own immune system attacks and destroys cells of their hair follicles. Interestingly, AA attacks pigmented hairs more actively than nonpigmented hairs. Thus, selective loss of pigmented hair, causing people to become “gray overnight,” could actually result from acute AA onset during intense stress or grief.
The genome-wide association study (GWAS) involved international researchers, led by a group at Columbia University Medical Center, New York City. Genotypic analysis of 1054 patients with AA and 3278 control individuals found more than 100 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with AA at a GWAS-significant level (P = 5 × 10-7). The majority of these SNPs were concentrated in 8 regions, most containing 1 or 2 genes with recognized immune function.
“Finding the initial genes underlying [AA] is a big step forward, but the nature of the genes is even more exciting,” observed senior author Angela M. Christiano, PhD, professor, Dermatology and Genetics & Development, and director of the Center for Human Genetics, Columbia University Medical Center, in a Columbia University news release.
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