Analysis of scalp fungal communities in severe alopecia areata patients by ITS sequencing
10.19405/j.cnki.issn1000–1492.2026.03.026
- VernacularTitle:基于ITS测序分析重症斑秃患者头皮真菌群落特征
- Author:
Chunlan ZHANG
1
;
Yilong LEI
1
;
Ruixuan CHENG
1
;
Dawei DUAN
2
;
Xin DU
1
;
Wenming ZHOU
2
;
Dandan ZANG
3
;
Feng WANG
1
Author Information
1. Department of Dermatology， The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University，Hefei 230601
2. Department of Dermatology， The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University， Hefei 230022
3. Research Experimental Center， Anhui Medical University， Hefei 230032
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
severe alopecia areata;
scalp fungal community;
ITS sequencing;
region-specific;
dysbiosis;
α-diversity
- From:
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui
2026;61(3):576-582
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
ObjectiveTo compare the differences in fungal community composition between lesional and non-lesional scalp areas in patients suffering from severe alopecia areata （AA）， and compare these with healthy scalp areas in control subjects. Additionally， to preliminarily explore the changes in scalp fungal communities in severe AA patients and their potential underlying immunological mechanisms. MethodsA total of 20 severe AA patients and 18 healthy controls were enrolled. Skin swab samples were collected from lesional and non-lesional scalp areas of severe AA patients， as well as from the normal scalp of healthy controls. The fungal internal transcribed spacer （ITS） region was amplified and analyzed using high-throughput sequencing. ResultsThe lesional scalp areas of severe AA patients exhibited higher α-diversity and species richness in fungal communities. Notably， the relative abundance of Ascomycota， along with genera such as Mycosphaerella， Aspergillus， Penicillium， and Wallemia， significantly increased in the bald regions. In contrast， Acremonium and Schizophyllum were more predominant in the non-lesional areas of severe AA patients. ConclusionDistinct region-specific differences in scalp fungal microbiota in severe AA patients suggests that fungal dysbiosis may play a potential role in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata. These findings provide new insights into the disease characteristics of severe AA from the perspective of scalp microecology.
