The Ultrastructure of the Dermal Papilla-Epithelial Junction in Normal and Alopecia Areata Hair Follicles

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune skin disease caused by chronic inflammation of hair follicles. Chronic inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis and lupus erythematosus can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, the relationship between AA and heart diseases (HDs) remains unclear. Therefore, we conducted this retrospective cohort study to evaluate the risk of subsequent HDs in patients with AA. We reviewed 3770 cases of AA and from 18,850 age, sex, and income level-matched controls from the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort. In the subgroup analysis, patients who suffered from alopecia totalis, alopecia universalis, and ophiasis were designated as patients with severe AA and patients having the disease for over a year were designated as patients with long-standing AA. As a result, we found that AA was not associated with a higher risk of heart failure, angina pectoris, or myocardial infarction. There was no significant increase in the risk of overall HD associated with AA (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.17; 95% confidence interval: 0.93–1.48; p = 0.177). Neither the severity nor the duration of AA was related to an increased risk of HDs. During the study period, AA patients did not show a significantly higher cumulative incidence of HDs than controls (log-rank p = 0.157). In conclusion, AA does not increase the risk of HD.

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Is the Dermal Papilla a Primary Target in Alopecia Areata?

Journal of Investigative Dermatology ◽

10.1038/jid.1995.30 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 104 (5) ◽

pp. 7-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Valerie A. Randall ◽

Michael Nutbrown ◽

Neil S. Calver ◽

Susan M. Parkin ◽

Susan P.MacDonald Hull ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alopecia Areata ◽

Dermal Papilla ◽

Primary Target

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Hormones and Hair Growth: Variations in Androgen Receptor Content of Dermal papilla Cells Cultured from Human and Red Deer (Cervus Elaphus) Hair Follicles.

Journal of Investigative Dermatology ◽

10.1111/1523-1747.ep12363039 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 101 (s1) ◽

pp. 114S-120S ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Valerie Anne Randall ◽

Margaret Julie Thornton ◽

Andrew Guy Messenger ◽

Nigel Andrew Hibberts ◽

Andrew Stewart Irving Loudon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Androgen Receptor ◽

Cervus Elaphus ◽

Hair Growth ◽

Red Deer ◽

Dermal Papilla ◽

Hair Follicles ◽

Dermal Papilla Cells ◽

Cells Cultured

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Smooth muscle alpha-actin is a marker for hair follicle dermis in vivo and in vitro

Journal of Cell Science ◽

10.1242/jcs.99.3.627 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 99 (3) ◽

pp. 627-636 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

C.A. Jahoda ◽

A.J. Reynolds ◽

C. Chaponnier ◽

J.C. Forester ◽

G. Gabbiani

Keyword(s):

Smooth Muscle ◽

Hair Follicle ◽

Dermal Papilla ◽

Hair Follicles ◽

Dermal Papilla Cells ◽

Smooth Muscle Alpha Actin ◽

Actin Expression ◽

Alpha Actin ◽

Sheath Cells

We have examined the expression of smooth muscle alpha-actin in hair follicles in situ, and in hair follicle dermal cells in culture by means of immunohistochemistry. Smooth muscle alpha-actin was present in the dermal sheath component of rat vibrissa, rat pelage and human follicles. Dermal papilla cells within all types of follicles did not express the antigen. However, in culture a large percentage of both hair dermal papilla and dermal sheath cells were stained by this antibody. The same cells were negative when tested with an antibody to desmin. Overall, explant-derived skin fibroblasts had relatively low numbers of positively marked cells, but those from skin regions of high hair-follicle density displayed more smooth muscle alpha-actin expression than fibroblasts from areas with fewer follicles. 2-D SDS-PAGE confirmed that, unlike fibroblasts, cultured papilla cells contained significant quantities of the alpha-actin isoform. The rapid switching on of smooth muscle alpha-actin expression by dermal papilla cells in early culture, contrasts with the behaviour of smooth muscle cells in vitro, and has implications for control of expression of the antigen in normal adult systems. The very high percentage of positively marked cultured papilla and sheath cells also provides a novel marker of cells from follicle dermis, and reinforces the idea that they represent a specialized cell population, contributing to the heterogeneity of fibroblast cell types in the skin dermis, and possibly acting as a source of myofibroblasts during wound healing.

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Disorders of Hair

10.2310/fm.1107 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

James Q Del Rosso

Keyword(s):

Hair Loss ◽

Alopecia Areata ◽

Hair Growth ◽

Growth Cycle ◽

Hair Follicles ◽

Common Type ◽

Diagnosis And Treatment ◽

Basic Knowledge ◽

Androgenetic Alopecia ◽

Broad Overview

A basic knowledge of the hair growth cycle is needed to evaluate disorders of hair growth. This chapter presents a broad overview of the physiology and evaluation of hair growth, as well as discussions of specific types of alopecia. The epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of androgenetic alopecia, the most common type of nonscarring hair loss, are covered. Diffuse hair shedding is generalized hair loss over the entire scalp. Diagnosis and treatment of telogen effluvium, anagen arrest (anagen effluvium), and other causes of diffuse hair shedding are covered in detail. Alopecia areata, typically characterized by patchy hair loss; cicatricial alopecia, which results from permanent scarring of the hair follicles; and miscellaneous causes of hair loss are also discussed. Tables list the causes of diffuse and cicatricial alopecia, telogen effluvium, and miscellaneous chemicals and categories of drugs that can cause alopecia, as well as miscellaneous causes of hair loss. Included is an algorithm outlining the approach to diagnosing nonscarring alopecia, as well as a variety of clinical photographs. This review contains 9 highly rendered figures, 6 tables, and 42 references.

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Communication compartments in hair follicles and their implication in differentiative control

Development ◽

10.1242/dev.114.2.389 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 114 (2) ◽

pp. 389-393 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

E. Kam ◽

M.B. Hodgins

Keyword(s):

Lucifer Yellow ◽

Early Stage ◽

Dermal Papilla ◽

Hair Follicles ◽

Hair Dye ◽

Hair Bulb ◽

Ultrastructural Studies ◽

Junctional Communication ◽

Root Sheath ◽

Inner Root Sheath

Observations on hair follicles presented in this paper show that boundaries to junctional communication are formed between groups of cells following different pathways of differentiation. The patterns of junctional communication in the bulbs of rat vibrissa follicles and human hair follicles were studied by microinjection of the fluorescent tracer dye Lucifer Yellow CH. Dye spread was extensive between undifferentiated cells of the hair bulb matrix but communication boundaries were found between groups of morphologically distinct cells. For example, boundaries to dye spread were observed between undifferentiated matrix cells and cells in the early stage of differentiation into the inner root sheath, between Huxley's and Henle's layers in the early inner root sheath and between cells of the cuticle and cortex of the hair. Dye did not spread between epithelial cells of the hair bulb and mesenchymal cells of the connective tissue sheath or dermal papilla. The patterns of dye spread became more complex (increased boundary formation and subcompartmentation) as differentiation progressed in higher regions of the hair bulb. The observed communication can be related to previous ultrastructural studies by others on the distribution of gap junctions in the wool follicle. These results show that junctional communication, with its consequent intercellular spread of small ions and molecules, is associated with uniformity of expression and behaviour within cell populations and that interruption of communication through the formation of boundaries and communication compartments is temporally and spatially related to the production of subpopulations of cells committed to the expression of different phenotypes.

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