Establishment of cicatricial alopecia animal models

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K10120
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Dermatology
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University
• Principal Investigator: Nakamura Hideki 北海道大学, 医学研究院, 助手 (60435956)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 清水 宏 北海道大学, 医学研究院, 教授 (00146672) ; 西江 渉 北海道大学, 医学研究院, 准教授 (20443955) ; 夏賀 健 北海道大学, 大学病院, 講師 (70645457)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 皮膚病態学 / 瘢痕型脱毛症 / 17型コラーゲン

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Cicatricial alopecia is a type of hair loss characterized by loss of hair follicles and surrounding fibrosis. The aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanism of cicatricial alopecia by analyzing the hair follicles in the blistered skin of mice in detail. A major finding was a delay in hair follicle development/cycling at the re-epithelialized wounds after blistering. At the same time, infiltration of inflammatory cells was poor at the site where several layers of epithelization were completed, and there was no difference compared to the intact site. Taken together, these results indicate that the early stage of cicatricial alopecia involves less inflammation, with the proliferation of epithelial cells required for hair follicle growth directed toward re-epithelialization.

Free Research Field

皮膚科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

瘢痕型脱毛症は、全身性エリテマトーデスなどの膠原病や毛孔性扁平苔癬などでしばしば見られる症状であり、初期段階において毛包をアタックする炎症細胞浸潤を抑制するための、十分な抗炎症療法が重要であると考えられてきた。しかしながら、本研究の成果で、むしろ脱毛の初期段階では毛包上皮細胞の増殖が創傷の治癒へと傾いてしまい、十分に毛包の成長へと向けられていないことが観察されたため、抗炎症療法のみならず、上皮細胞の増殖・分化の調整が早期治療に重要である可能性が示唆された。