The Hair Loss Encyclopedia
protein involved in immune response and stress detection
MICA stands for MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A. It is a protein that is part of the immune system and is involved in the body's response to stress and infection. MICA is expressed on the surface of certain cells and can be recognized by natural killer (NK) cells, which play a role in targeting and destroying infected or cancerous cells. In the context of hair and alopecia, variations in the MICA gene have been studied for their potential association with autoimmune conditions like alopecia areata.