Therapy for Alopecia Areata in Mice Using Parathyroid Hormone Agonists and Antagonists, Linked to a Collagen-Binding Domain
by Katikaneni, Ranjitha; Gulati, Rohan; Suh, Daniel; Sakon, Joshua; Seymour, Andrew; Ponnapakkam, Tulasi; Gensure, Robert
Alopecia areata is a common form of hair loss in which autoimmune-mediated destruction of hair follicles causes patchy hair loss, for which there is no adequate therapy. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) induces the hair cycle and promotes hair growth. PTH-CBD is a fusion protein of PTH and a bacterial collagen-binding domain (CBD), leading to targeted delivery to and retention in the skin collagen. We tested the effects of a single dose of PTH-CBD (low or high dose) on an animal model for alopecia areata, the C3H/HeJ engrafted mouse. In all the treated animals, there was a rapid (1-4 days) increase in hair growth, with sustained effects obsd. over a 2-mo period (7/10 total treated mice<40 ^hair loss based on gray scale anal., vs. 2/5 in vehicle control animals). Histol. examn. revealed massive stimulation of anagen VI hair follicles in treated animals despite an ongoing immune response. PTH-CBD thus shows promise as a therapy for alopecia areata, likely in conjunction with a mild immune suppressant, such as hydrocortisone cream.
- Journal
- Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 1
- Year
- 2013
- Start Page
- S61-S62
- URL
- https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/jidsymp.2013.25
- ISBN/ISSN
- 1529-1774; 1087-0024
- DOI
- 10.1038/jidsymp.2013.25