Figure 2.

Induction of autophagy with Tat-BECN1 peptide delays onset of AA. (A) Mouse images showing the extent of hair loss in Tat-SCRAMBLE or Tat-BECN1 peptide treated AA mice at 5 weeks after peptide teratment. Solid black lines demarcate the area of skin without hair shafts. (B) Graph showing quantification of % area of skin exhibiting hair loss in Tat-SCRAMBLE or Tat-BECN1 peptide treated AA mice. Data were pooled from 2 independent experiments with at least 2 mice per group. Two-way ANOVA was used to analyze data. *p < 0.05 was considered significant. (C) Mouse images showing extent of hair loss in Tat-SCRAMBLE or Tat-BECN1 peptide treated AA mice at 2 weeks after peptide treatment discontinuation. Solid black lines demarcate the area of skin without hair shafts. (D) Graph shows the area under the curve (AUC) measurement for % area of skin showing hair loss upon Tat-SCRAMBLE or Tat-BECN1 treatment over weeks after grafting. Unpaired two-tailed t-test was used to analyze data. *p-values <0.05 was considered significant. (E) Graphs show the frequency of various T cells and macrophage subsets in the skin and skin-draining lymph nodes (SDLN) of Tat-SCRAMBLE or Tat-BECN1 treated AA mice. 5 mice were used per treatment group. Two-way ANOVA statistical test was performed and p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Differences between groups were not significant (ns).