Autoimmunity is developed when the immune homeostasis is broken-down, in which normal cells or tissues are attacked by the body's immune system. The skin is the largest organ of human body, which not only serves as a mechanical barrier against the outsider environment, but also is involved in the immune system for protection. Both adaptive and innate immune responses can be developed in the skin. In medical conditions, the skin cells and tissues being attacked by autoimmune responses leads to skin lesions that can be a major source of skin diseases or an indicator of systemic disorders. Autoimmune skin diseases include psoriasis, pemphigus, scleroderma, alopecia areata, leucoderma, and lupus erythematosus etc. However, the pathogenesis of them remains unclear due to the crosstalk of environment, genetics, epigenetics, and cellular aspects and these diseases are very difficult to early diagnosis and cure. Therefore, it is of great significance to understand the pathogenic mechanisms of autoimmune skin diseases to improve the early diagnosis and develop new treatments to them.
The main aim of this Special Issue is to present new findings and progresses in skin autoimmunity, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatments of autoimmune skin diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, pemphigus, scleroderma, alopecia areata, and leucoderma, etc. We accept papers that investigate:
- Immune microenvironments, molecular mechanisms, signaling pathways in skin autoimmunity.
- The role of genetics, epigenetics, environmental factors in the development of autoimmune skin diseases.
- Pathogenic mechanisms involved in diseases development and progression including the immune tolerance breakdown and defects in clearances and cellular dysfunctions.
- Advances in the diagnosis and therapeutic strategies of skin autoimmune diseases.
