Treatment of hereditary hypotrichosis simplex of the scalp with topical gentamicin

Background Hypotrichosis simplex of the scalp (HSS) is characterized by progressive loss of scalp hair that results in almost complete baldness at a young age. HSS is often caused by dominant nonsense mutations in CDSN encoding corneodesmosin, leading to the formation of an amyloid-like material, which interferes with normal hair follicle cycle. Objectives As gentamicin has been shown to mediate ribosomal read-through, we aimed to ascertain its therapeutic efficacy in a small series of patients carrying a recurrent mutation in CDSN. Methods We used a green fluorescence reporter assay system, confocal microscopy and Western blot analysis to ascertain in vitro the ability of gentamicin to induce translational read through across a causative CDSN mutation. Results Using a reporter assay, we initially showed that gentamicin induces read-through activity across an HSS-causing nonsense mutation. Gentamicin was further shown to rescue corneodesmosin translation in primary keratinocytes obtained from a patient with HSS. To validate the in vitro data, we conducted a pilot clinical trial where the scalp of four patients was treated topically with gentamicin for 6 months, demonstrating significant improvement as ascertained by the Severity of Alopecia Tool score. Conclusions Our findings indicate that topical gentamicin should be considered as a potential therapeutic modality in HSS.