UNASSIGNED: @entity1663 ( @entity1663 ) is an organ-restricted autoimmune disease that mainly affects the hair follicle (HF). Several findings support a key primary effector role of @entity405 + T cells in the disease pathogenesis. Autoreactive @entity405 + T cells are not only present in the characteristic peribulbar inflammatory cell infiltrate of lesional @entity1663 HFs but are also found to be infiltrating in lesional HF epithelium where they are thought to recognize major histocompatibility complex class I-presented (auto-)antigens. However, the latter still remain unidentified. Therefore, one key aim in @entity1663 research is to identify the clonotypes of autoaggressive, intralesional @entity405 + T cells. Therapeutically, this is important (a) so that these lymphocytes can be selectively eliminated or inhibited, (b) to identify the-as yet elusive-key (auto-)antigens in @entity1663 , and/or (c) to induce peripheral tolerance against the latter. Therefore, we have recently embarked on a National @entity1665 Areata Foundation-supported project that attempts to isolate disease-specific, intralesional @entity405 + T cells from @entity1663 skin in order to determine their TCR clonotype, using two complementary strategies. The first method is based on the enzymatic skin digestion from lesional @entity1663 skin, followed by either MACS technology and single-cell picking or FACS cell sorting, while the second method on laser microdissection. The identification of disease-specific TCRs can serve as a basis for specific @entity1663 immunotherapy along the lines sketched above and may possibly also provide prognostic biomarkers. If successful, this research strategy promises to permit, at long last, the causal therapy of @entity1663 .

Toward the Clonotype Analysis of XXXX Areata-Specific, Intralesional Human @entity405 + T Lymphocytes.

@entity1665 :: ('MESH:D000505', 'Disease') :: ['Alopecia'] @entity405 :: ('925', 'Gene') :: ['CD8'] @entity1663 :: ('MESH:D000506', 'Disease') :: ['Alopecia areata', 'AA']
@entity1665 :: (MESH:D000505,Disease) :: ['Alopecia']
