Erythroid Differentiation Regulator 1 as a Novel Biomarker for Hair Loss Disorders

Yu Woo,Yu Woo,Seo Jeong,Dae Cho,Sewon Hwang,Hyun Park,Hyun Park

doi:10.3390/ijms18020316

Abstract

Erythroid differentiation regulator 1 (Erdr1) is known to be involved in the inflammatory process via regulating the immune system in many cutaneous disorders, such as psoriasis and rosacea. However, the role of Erdr1 in various hair loss disorders remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the putative role of Erdr1 in alopecias. Skin samples from 21 patients with hair loss disorders and five control subjects were retrieved, in order to assess their expression levels of Erdr1. Results revealed that expression of Erdr1 was significantly downregulated in the epidermis and hair follicles of patients with hair loss disorders, when compared to that in the control group. In particular, the expression of Erdr1 was significantly decreased in patients with alopecia areata. We propose that Erdr1 downregulation might be involved in the pathogenesis of hair loss, and could be considered as a novel biomarker for hair loss disorders.

Highlights

Hair loss is a heterogeneous disease entity, characterized by diverse clinical presentations which range from only a solitary hair loss patch, to the complete loss of body hair in the hair-bearing areas [1]
To determine whether Erythroid differentiation regulator 1 (Erdr1) is expressed in the hair follicles, immunohistochemical staining of Erdr1 in healthy controls (n = 5) was performed
Traction alopecia is generally not considered to be accompanied by inflammatory infiltrates in the hair follicle [28]

Summary

Introduction

Hair loss is a heterogeneous disease entity, characterized by diverse clinical presentations which range from only a solitary hair loss patch, to the complete loss of body hair in the hair-bearing areas [1]. Hair loss can be classified as non-scarring or scarring alopecia, based on the presence of follicular ostia, which are the openings of the hair follicles through which hairs emerge from the skin. Scarring alopecia is characterized by the lack of follicular ostia; and the condition is irreversible [2]. A common form of non-scarring alopecia, alopecia areata (AA), is associated with autoimmune attacks on hair follicles, characterized by the presence of follicular ostia [3]. The progression of AA is diverse, and it fluctuates over time [3]. Another hair loss disorder is traction alopecia, which is caused by secondary traumatic tensile forces to the hair [4]

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