Molecular signatures define alopecia areata subtypes and transcriptional biomarkers.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 27322477.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1016/j.ebiom.2016.03.036 and PMC identifier 4909368.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease typified by nonscarring hair loss with a variable clinical course. In this study, we conducted whole genome gene expression analysis of 96 human scalp skin biopsy specimens from AA or normal control subjects. Based on gene expression profiling, samples formed distinct clusters based on the presence or absence of disease as well as disease phenotype (patchy disease compared with alopecia totalis or universalis). Differential gene expression analysis allowed us to robustly demonstrate graded immune activity in samples of increasing phenotypic severity and generate a quantitative gene expression scoring system that classified samples based on interferon and cytotoxic T lymphocyte immune signatures critical for disease pathogenesis.
Medical subject headings
- Alopecia Areata
- Gene Expression Profiling
- Genetic Markers