Project description:Our goal was to identify miRNA expression patterns that correlated with spontaneous onset of autoimmune alopecia in C3H/HeJ mice compare to normal haired controls. Skin from 3 mice with or without spontaneous AA were taken for the study.
Project description:Our goal was to develop a transcriptomic description of affected alopecic skin from aged C3H/HeJ mice. Affected skin from 3 mice was compared to skin from similarly aged but unaffected C3H/HeJ mice.
Project description:Alopecia areata (AA) is among the most prevalent autoimmune diseases, but the development of innovative therapeutic strategies has lagged due to an incomplete understanding of the immunological underpinnings of disease. Here, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) of skin-infiltrating immune cells from the graft-induced C3H/HeJ mouse model of AA, coupled with antibody-based depletion to interrogate the functional role of specific cell types in AA in vivo. Since AA is predominantly T cell-mediated, we focused on dissecting lymphocyte function in AA. Both our scRNAseq and functional studies established CD8+ T cells as the primary disease-driving cell type in AA. Only the depletion of CD8+ T cells, but not CD4+ T cells, NK, B, or γδ T cells, was sufficient to prevent and reverse AA. Selective depletion of regulatory T cells (Treg) showed that Treg are protective against AA in C3H/HeJ mice, suggesting that AA failure of Treg-mediated immunosuppression is not a major disease mechanism. Focused analyses of CD8+ T cells revealed five subsets, whose heterogeneity is defined by an ‘effectorness gradient’ of interrelated transcriptional states that culminate in increased effector function and tissue residency. scRNAseq of human AA skin showed that CD8+ T cells in human AA follow a similar trajectory, underscoring that shared mechanisms drive disease in both murine and human AA. Our study represents a comprehensive, systematic interrogation of lymphocyte heterogeneity in AA, and uncovers a framework for AA-associated CD8+ T cells with implications for the design of future therapeutics.
Project description:The C3H/HeJ grafted model of alopecia areata was used to determine the efficacy of systemic baricitinib at preventing alopecia or treating established disease. The efficacy of topical baricitinib at treating established alopecia in the C3H/HeJ grafted model was also assessed. Microarrays were performed on skin RNA at week 0 and week 12 after starting treatment in all models.