040 The C3H/HeJ mouse model of alopecia areata as a resource for training graduate and undergraduate students in clinical laboratory research techniques

Abstract

Alopecia areata (AA) is a cell-mediated autoimmune disease that targets actively growing hair follicles in both humans and mice, resulting in hair loss [1]. Alopecia Areata occurs naturally in about 20% of C3H/HeJ mice by 12 months of age [2]. Transplantation of skin or cells from the lymph nodes of affected animals into younger, histocompatible C3H/HeJ mice will reliably produce AA symptoms within 10-20 weeks of transplant [2, 3] providing both a useful tool for investigating the underlying mechanisms of AA and a preclinical model for drug testing.