Hereditary Hair Diseases with Immune Abnormalities

Abstract

　Hereditary hair diseases are largely divided into polygenic diseases, such as alopecia areata and androgenetic alopecia, and monogenic diseases, which are generally caused by mutations in one gene. Monogenic diseases are further classified into non-syndromic forms, which exhibit only hair symptoms, and syndromic forms in which hair symptoms appear as a part of a syndrome. The latter forms are composed of more than 200 distinct diseases, some of which are known to cause certain immune abnormalities. The causative genes for hereditary hair diseases with immunopathy play important roles not only in hair follicle morphogenesis and development, but also in the maintenance of immune systems and epidermal barrier functions.