Cover Image: Are melanocyte-associated peptides the elusive autoantigens in alopecia areata?

Conflicts of interest: none declared. Dear Editor, This section through a lesional alopecia areata hair follicle was double immunostained for c‐Kit, which demarcates hair matrix (HM) melanocytes and mast cells in the hair follicle's connective tissue sheath (CTS), and the T‐cell marker CD8.1 This image catches the rare moment when a CD8+ T cell presumably recognizes an autoantigen presented by a melanocyte and attacks it (red rectangle). While melanogenesis‐related peptides have long been thought to be autoantigens in this CD8+ T‐cell‐dependent autoimmune disease, the key major histocompatibility complex class I‐presented (auto)antigens recognized by these T cells remain to be identified – a prerequisite for developing a curative therapy. This image further supports the hypothesis that melanogenesis‐related peptides are among the elusive autoantigens in alopecia areata.2 DP, dermal papilla; ORS, outer root sheath. Scale bar = 50 μm.