Preliminary experiments in C57BL/6J mice showed that immunophilin ligand FK506 and its non-immunosuppressive analogs, GP11046 and GP11511 were capable of promoting telogen to anagen transition. Since GP11046 and GP11511 possess the neurotrophic properties of FK506 without its immunosuppressant capability, the neural action of these immunophilin ligands may play an important role in the hair cycle. This finding has significant clinical implications in that immunophilin ligands may have the potential to reverse alopecia. To further investigate this possibility we propose to explore the response of transplanted miniaturized scalp hair follicles to topically applied immunophilin ligands.
