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Mouse and rat models for hair loss due to alopecia areata
Exp Dermatol. 2008 October; 17(10): 793–805.
The C3H/HeJ mouse and DEBR rat models for alopecia areata
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Jing Sun, et al
edited exerpts:
"........ Two rodent AA models are useful for testing drug efficacy.... A variety of drugs have been tested to date in both the mouse and rat models, most of which cause some degree of hair regrowth in human AA patients. The positive results, zz(are) a proof of concept that these rodent strains can serve as useful models. snip Furthermore, the availability and small size of these two rodent models makes them practical tools for screening drugs for efficacy. Lastly, since AA is a T cell mediated cell disease, these models are potentially very useful to screen for effective agents used to treat other T cell mediated diseases. ...snip....
Compounds based upon promotion of immunoregulatory mechanisms used to treat hair loss due to AA are also effective in the rodent AA models as described above..... Loss of hair during active disease is associated with an infiltrate of activated CD4+ cells around the hair follicles,..... The interaction of host antigen presenting cells with injected, AA antigen-specific CD4+ T cells may stimulate endogenous cytotoxic T cells, which may then function as specific effector cells and target hair follicles. snip...