[Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] Inflammation T Cells and Hair Loss

[Ted Kochanski]

All,


The following material is excerpted from an *MIT News* story

New treatment could reverse hair loss caused by an autoimmune skin disease
A microneedle patch that delivers immune-regulating molecules can teach T
cells not to attack hair follicles, helping hair to regrow.
Anne Trafton | MIT News
Publication Date:May 9, 2024
https://news.mit.edu/2024/new-treatment-could-reverse-hair-loss-caused-autoimmune-skin-disease-0509


> A colorized microscopic view shows the cone-shaped microneedles laid on
> out a grid, in yellow, on a purple surface.
> Caption: Researchers developed a potential new treatment for alopecia
> areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss.
> The new microneedle patch delivers immune-regulating molecules that can
> teach T cells not to attack hair follicles, helping hair regrow. Pictured
> is an up-close view of the microneedles.
> Credits:Image: Courtesy of the researchers
> An extremely close-up view of three microneedles show they are cone-shaped
> and have a crinkled texture.
> Caption:The microneedle patches used in this study are made from
> hyaluronic acid crosslinked with polyethylene glycol (PEG), both of which
> are biocompatible and commonly used in medical applications. The
> researchers designed the microneedle patches so that after releasing their
> drug payload, they can also collect samples that could be used to monitor
> the progress of the treatment. Pictured is another microscopic view of the
> microneedles.
> Credits:Image: Courtesy of the researchers
> Researchers at MIT, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical
> School have developed a potential new treatment for alopecia areata, an
> autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss and affects people of all ages,
> including children.
> For most patients with this type of hair loss, there is no effective
> treatment. The team developed a microneedle patch that can be painlessly
> applied to the scalp and releases drugs that help to rebalance the immune
> response at the site, halting the autoimmune attack.


In a study of mice, the researchers found that this treatment allowed hair
> to regrow and dramatically reduced inflammation at the treatment site,
> while avoiding systemic immune effects elsewhere in the body. This strategy
> could also be adapted to treat other autoimmune skin diseases such as
> vitiligo, atopic dermatitis, and psoriasis, the researchers say...


In a study of mice, the researchers found that this treatment allowed hair
> to regrow and dramatically reduced inflammation at the treatment site,
> while avoiding systemic immune effects elsewhere in the body. This strategy
> could also be adapted to treat other autoimmune skin diseases such as
> vitiligo, atopic dermatitis, and psoriasis, the researchers say.
> “This innovative approach marks a paradigm shift. Rather than suppressing
> the immune system, we’re now focusing on regulating it precisely at the
> site of antigen encounter to generate immune tolerance,” says Natalie
> Artzi, a principal research scientist in MIT’s Institute for Medical
> Engineering and Science, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard
> Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and an associate faculty
> member at the Wyss Institute of Harvard University.
> Artzi and Jamil R. Azzi, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard
> Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, are the senior authors of the
> new study <https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/154841>, which appears in
> the journal *Advanced Materials*. Nour Younis, a Brigham and Women’s
> postdoc, and Nuria Puigmal, a Brigham and Women’s postdoc and former MIT
> research affiliate, are the lead authors of the paper.
> The researchers are now working on launching a company to further develop
> the technology, led by Puigmal, who was recently awarded a Harvard Business
> School Blavatnik Fellowship.



references the following article
N. Younis, N. Puigmal, A. E. Kurdi, A. Badaoui, D. Zhang, C. Morales, A.
Saad, D. Cruz, N. A. Rahy, A. Daccache, T. Huerta, C. Deban, A. Halawi, J.
Choi, P. Dosta, C. Lian, N. Artzi, J. R. Azzi, Microneedle-mediated
Delivery of Immunomodulators Restores Immune Privilege in Hair Follicles
and Reverses Immune-Mediated Alopecia. Adv. Mater. 2024, 2312088.
Version: Author's final manuscript
ISSN
0935-9648
1521-4095

Ted
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