Volume 20 Issue 9, September 2014
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease characterized by immune-mediated attack of the hair follicle and hair loss. In this issue, Xing et al. find that cytotoxic T cells are necessary and sufficient for the development of alopecia areata in mice. Inhibition of interferon and common gamma chain cytokines or administration of JAK inhibitors prevent the development of disease, whereas JAK inhibitors promote hair regrowth in patients and mice with established disease. The cover image depicts IL-15 (green), IL-15 receptor α (red) and nuclei (DAPI, blue) in a skin resident-hair bulb from a patient with alopecia areata. Image courtesy of the Christiano and Clynes laboratories, Columbia University.
Editorial
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