D2-40 Expression in Primary Scarring and Nonscarring Alopecia

Am J Dermatopathol. 2010 Apr 20.

D2-40 Expression in Primary Scarring and Nonscarring Alopecia.
Mahalingam M, Hoang MP.

From the *Dermatopathology Section, Department of Dermatology, Boston University School of Medicine; and daggerDepartment of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

Abstract
The pathogenesis of scarring alopecia is believed to be related to damage to stem cells within, and outside the confines of, the follicular bulge region. Scattered reports indicate that D2-40, a monoclonal antibody that specifically detects a fixation-resistant epitope on podoplanin, highlights the basal cell layer of the outer root sheath. Given this, we sought to ascertain involvement of the same in a total of 52 cases of alopecia (33 scarring and 19 nonscarring). D2-40 expression, noted in the peripheral layer of the outer root sheath (above and below attachment of the pilar muscle), was similar in 24/33 (73%) and increased in 9/33 (27%) in the infundibular region of cases of scarring alopecia in comparison to its expression in 17/19 (90%; no expression noted in the other 2) of cases of nonscarring alopecia. The absence of a unifying diagnosis in entities demonstrating an increase precludes any correlation from being made regarding D2-40 expression and histologic diagnosis. However, more recently, podoplanin has been shown to be a novel Fos target gene in some skin cancers. Thus, from a scientific perspective, involvement of Fos-dependent transcription mechanisms in the etiopathogenesis of select scarring alopecias does not seem entirely unreasonable although studies defining the role of the Fos-podoplanin axis in development of the normal hair follicle are required before a definitive conclusion can be drawn.

IH -- Can you translate this to English, lol? I'm interested in what it means.

i'd like to know more about it as well... is there any particular regimen formed to treat it?

D2-40 expression is found in to be serious factor also in different diseases. Crohn's disease for example.

Scary thougth i have 2 scars on my head yet from my teens. Doctors said i was hit, of course that's not true. Bad to is worse - i until recently believed it was regular alopecia areata... Any thought will be welcome.