Does mitochondrial dysfunction of hair follicle epithelial stem cells play a role in the pathobiology of lichen planopilaris

Lichen planopilaris (LPP) is a difficult to treat condition leading to permanent hair loss and scarring. Pathobiologically, LPP shows T- cell mediated interferon-γ driven loss of keratin 15 (K15) positive hair follicle (HF) epithelial stem cells (eHFSCs) due to immune privilege (IP) collapse and pathological epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This exhausts the eHFSC pool; impacting the HF's capacity to regenerate and cycle and ultimately resulting in HF destruction, fibrosis and scarring.