Mice, alopecia

Sundberg, J. P. and King, L. E. (2003) Mouse alopecia areata models an array of data on mechanisms and genetics. J Invest DermatolSymProc 8, 173-175. 

Alopecia Areata Alopecia areata is a relatively common autoimmune skin disease that affects humans, mice, rats, horses, dogs, cattle, and even a feather form in chickens (26). Although the disease occurs spontaneously, mice have a low frequency of disease. Full thickness skin grafts provided a reproducible and predictable model (53). This mouse has been used effectively to test drugs known to work on humans with alopecia areata by all methods discussed in this chapter (27). 

Some mouse strains may display pronounced balding patches due to alopecia (40) or increased auto- or hetero-barbering behavior (4-1 —43), which will make the coat state data less valid. Therefore, this model may not be used in high barbering strains. Likewise, stress per se may promote barbering in mice (44), thereby further confounding the coat assessment protocol. 

Adverse effects in patients include nausea, vomiting, bone marrow depression, local phlebitis, alopecia, stomatitis, and cardiac toxicity dependent on cumulative dosage.2 LD50 (i.v., mouse) 21.1 mg/kg.1 Reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.3... 

Adverse effects include nausea, vomiting, alopecia, lethargy, neurologic toxicities, loss of deep tendon reflexes, and hallucinations.2 LD50 (i.v., mouse) 6.3+0.6 mg/kg LD50 (i.v., rat) 2.0+ 0.2 mg/kg.1... 

Atrichia with papular lesions (APL) is a rare autosomal-recessive form of total alopecia. Affected individuals are both without eyebrows and eyelashes, and never develop axillary and pubic hair. The scalp hair usually appears normal at birth, but falls out soon after. Defects in the human homolog of the mouse hairless gene (Hr) have been implicated as the molecular basis of this rare form of congenital hair loss. 

Identification of the mouse anti-alopecia factor. J. biol. Chem. 139,... 

Nakamura M et al (2008) Controlled delivery of T-box21 small interfering RNA ameliorates autoimmune alopecia (Alopecia Areata) in a C3H/HeJ mouse model. Am J Pathol 172(3) 650-658... 

The synthesis of inositol by the bacterial fiora of the mouse has been definitely established by Woolley (111). Cultures of the intestinal contents of the mouse in a synthetic medium, showed that the intestinal organisms were capable of synthesizing the vitamin. This phenomenon furnished adequate explanation to the observation (112) that deficient mice with alopecia exhibited spontaneous cures while subsisting on an inositol-free regime (113). The amount of the vitamin stored was found to be lower in the bodies of mice with alopecia as compared with that stored by mice showing spontaneous cures. Moreover, the bacterial flora of the former showed poor synthesis as compared with the latter, when such flora was grown in synthetic media. 

Following his demonstration that inositol is an anti-alopecia factor for the mouse (21) and the observation that there were numerous spontaneous cures (22), Woolley made a more intensive study of the latter phenomenon. He was able to demonstrate (23) that mice, when given adequate pantothenic acid, are able to synthesize inositol and add it to their body stores. From his experimental data it appeared that one site of synthesis was probably the intestinal tract and that the organisms responsible were Gramnegative but not identifiable as E. coli. Since inositol deficiency could be... 

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