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.