581 | id == 581
581 | category_id == 30
581 | category_order == 27
581 | category_name == Hair Loss
581 | category_color == #C47AC0
581 | slug == IKZF4-alopecia-areata
581 | title == Are Regulatory T Cells Essential for Preventing Hair Loss? (IKZF4)
581 | meta_description == The IKZF4 gene encodes a protein that is essential for the production of Tregs. What is its connection to alopecia areata?
581 | summary == <p><strong>The <em>IKZF4 </em>gene encodes a protein that is essential for the production of Tregs. What is its connection to alopecia areata? Read on to find out.</strong></p>
581 | overall_score_text == Your Hair Loss Score (based on IKZF4)
581 | image == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/background/IKZF4-Alopecia-areata.jpg
581 | author_id == 1
581 | author_name == Jasmine Foster
581 | author_title == BSc, BEd
581 | author_order == 36
581 | author_photo == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/author-photo/Jasmine.jpg
581 | author_intro == <p><strong>Jasmine received her BS from McGill University and her BEd from Vancouver Island University.</strong></p>    <p>Jasmine loves helping people understand their brains and bodies, a passion that grew out of her dual background in biology and education. From the chem lab to the classroom, everyone has the right to learn and make informed decisions about their health.</p>
581 | reviewer == None
581 | medical_reviewer_id == 11
581 | medical_reviewer_name == Puya Yazdi
581 | medical_reviewer_title == MD
581 | publish_date == 2020
581 | publish_date == 12
581 | publish_date == 30
581 | avg_rating == 5.0
581 | tags_id == 88
581 | tags_name == Alopecia Areata
581 | tags_id == 33
581 | tags_name == Autoimmunity
581 | tags_id == 1029
581 | tags_name == Hair Loss
581 | tags_id == 1092
581 | tags_name == IKZF4 Gene
581 | tags_id == 95
581 | tags_name == Immune System
581 | tags_id == 24
581 | tags_name == Inflammation
581 | tags_id == 104
581 | tags_name == Tregs
581 | permissions_favorite == False
581 | permissions_rate == False
581 | content_article == <h2><strong>Summary</strong></h2> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IKZF4</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> encodes IKAROS family zinc finger 4, also known as Eos. Variants of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IKZF4</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> may play a role in alopecia areata by interfering with the production or activity of Tregs. Lifestyle, diet, and supplement modifications may counteract the effects of these variants by directly supporting Eos or increasing Treg numbers and activity.</span></p> <h2><strong><em>IKZF4</em></strong><strong> and Alopecia Areata</strong></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IKZF4</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene encodes a protein called IKAROS family zinc finger 4 or &ldquo;Eos,&rdquo; which is involved in the development of white blood cells (T cells, B cells, and natural killer cells) [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/64375"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Eos is essential for the correct development of regulatory T cells (</span><a href="https://selfhack.com/blog/treg/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tregs</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">), anti-inflammatory immune cells that prevent an immune response to normal, non-threatening cells and proteins. In mice lacking the Eos protein, Tregs failed to send tolerance signals to the immune system, and the animals developed systemic autoimmune disease [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7576235/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31296356/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Unsurprisingly, variants in the </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IKZF4</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene that lead to defects in Eos have been associated with various autoimmune conditions, including type 1 diabetes and alopecia areata. In type 1 diabetes, reduced Eos and impaired Tregs may lead to the production of autoantibodies against insulin and certain cell types in the pancreas [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23721563/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In alopecia areata, reduced Eos and impaired Tregs may lead to the production of autoantibodies against a wide variety of tissue types [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2921172/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IKZF4</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene encodes a protein called Eos which is essential for the production of anti-inflammatory Tregs and the suppression of autoimmune inflammation. Variants that reduce Eos are associated with alopecia areata.</span></span></p> <h2><strong>Your </strong><strong><em>IKZF4</em></strong><strong> Results for Alopecia Areata</strong></h2> <p>*6696797073302925*</p> <p><a href="https://selfdecode.com/gene/ikzf4/"><strong>IKZF4</strong></a> <a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs1701704/"><strong>rs1701704</strong></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2921172/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">]</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;T&rsquo; = Not associated with alopecia areata</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;G&rsquo; = Associated with relatively higher rates of alopecia areata</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The &lsquo;G&rsquo; allele may reduce Eos protein activity, leading to lower Treg levels and increased autoimmune inflammation [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7576235/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31296356/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></li> </ul> <p>*8953828530852794*</p> <h2><strong>Recommendations for Improving Hair Growth</strong></h2> <p>*7592008020410737*</p> <h3><strong>Zinc</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Eos (IKZF4) is a zinc-finger protein, meaning that it contains a structure called a zinc finger that requires </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/literally-everything-wanted-know-zinc-backed-science/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">zinc</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to function correctly [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/64375"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">People with alopecia areata are more likely to be deficient in zinc than the general population. Furthermore, in a small study, the majority of alopecia areata patients showed some improvement of symptoms after twelve weeks of taking oral zinc supplements [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2861201/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A study of 342 people associated patchy (alopecia areata) and diffuse (telogen effluvium) hair loss with low blood </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/literally-everything-wanted-know-zinc-backed-science/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">zinc</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> levels. The authors suggested that disturbed zinc metabolism plays a key role in these conditions [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3870206/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In line with this, zinc supplementation improved both conditions in 2 small uncontrolled trials of 20 people who also had zinc deficiency. In a non-placebo-controlled trial of 73 women complaining of hair loss, zinc was especially effective when combined with calcium </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/top-11-proven-uses-vitamin-b5/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">pantothenate</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20523772/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22741940/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5463555/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Good dietary sources of zinc include red meat, seafood, dairy products, nuts, legumes, and whole grains [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11053529/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The daily recommended intake of zinc is 11 mg per day for men and 8 mg for women. However, benefits for alopecia areata patients have only been demonstrated at daily doses of 50 mg per day [</span><a href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Zinc-HealthProfessional/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2861201/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3870206/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400; background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">Eos requires zinc in order to function correctly, and supplemental zinc has been found to improve alopecia areata in some patients.</span></p> <h3><strong>Avoid Cigarettes</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cigarette smoke exposure may increase inflammation by dysregulating Tregs. People with reduced Eos activity because of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IKZF4</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> variants may be at greater risk of inflammation from cigarette smoke [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4726532/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20979845/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a study of over 60,000 people, of whom 154 developed patchy hair loss (alopecia areata), smoking was associated with an approximately 2-fold incidence of this condition. Cigarette smoke may cause oxidative and inflammatory damage in the hair follicles, and impair hair growth [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32761499/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12673073/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400; background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">Cigarette smoke exposure may dysregulate Tregs and increase the risk of hair loss.</span></p> <h3><strong>Vitamin D</strong></h3> <p><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/35proven-health-benefits-vitamin-d-part-1/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vitamin D</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is believed to increase the numbers and activity of circulating Treg cells in people with inflammatory diseases. This effect may make it especially important for people with detrimental </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IKZF4</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> variants to avoid vitamin D deficiency [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6759203/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Low blood </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/35proven-health-benefits-vitamin-d-part-1/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">vitamin D</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> levels have been associated with increased incidence, severity, and duration of patchy hair loss (alopecia areata) in multiple studies [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25058999/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29633370/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29869122/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29243839/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31110371/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In an uncontrolled trial of 48 people with this condition, a synthetic derivative of vitamin D (calcipotriol) applied to the scalp for 12 weeks caused hair regrowth of at least 50% in 75% of the patients and full regrowth in 27%. Both this chemical and UV-B radiation (which stimulates vitamin D production) were similarly effective in a placebo-controlled trial of 60 people [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26091388/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31236672/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To avoid vitamin D deficiency, the National Institutes of Health recommends 20 mcg of vitamin D per day. If you are using a topical cream, be sure to follow the instructions on the label or consult with your doctor about appropriate use [</span><a href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400; background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">Vitamin D may increase circulating Tregs and suppress autoimmune inflammation, which may make it beneficial for both preventing and improving alopecia areata.</span></p>
581 | content_snp_table_6696797073302925_key == 6696797073302925
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581 | content_learn_more_8953828530852794_text == Based on the variants we looked at, your IKZF4 gene is somewhat associated with impaired Treg activity. However, this doesn't necessarily reflect your overall risk of alopecia areata; it’s just one gene related to it. Zinc, vitamin D, and avoiding cigarettes may help. Keep scrolling to find out more.
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rsIDs = rs1701704
rsStatus = rs1701704,IKZF4,chr12,56018703,T,A,G,,25,0,Normal
