Salk scientists at the Salk Institute have uncovered an unexpected molecular target of a common treatment for alopecia, a condition in which a person’s immune system attacks their own hair follicles, causing hair loss. The findings, published in Nature Immunology on June 23, 2022, describe how immune cells called regulatory T cells interact with skin cells using a hormone as a messenger to generate new hair follicles and hair growth.
Their findings suggested that some sort of communication must be occurring between regulatory T cells of the immune system and hair follicle stem cells to allow for hair regeneration. They found that glucocorticoids instruct the regulatory T cells to activate hair follicle stem cells, which leads to hair growth.
This study revealed that regulatory T cells and glucocorticoid hormones are not just immunosuppressants but also have a regenerative function.