Toward T Cell Protein–Protein Interaction Activity Relevant to Alopecia Areata

Development of better therapies for the T cell–mediated autoimmune disease alopecia areata (AA) could be expedited by an improved understanding of the immunologic signals underlying its pathogenesis. To approach this, our group is mounting a new technological and analytical platform, multiplex immunoprecipitation detected by flow cytometry (MIF). MIF is designed to allow analysis of collections of protein–protein interactions that participate in T cell signaling webs. Early experiments suggest that MIF can detect the increased protein–protein interaction network activity that occurs under conditions of T cell antigenic stimulation. Future experiments will focus on application of MIF to T cells isolated from AA or control patient samples, to identify critical T cell signaling complexes associated with the disorder.