July 29, 2022 – While more than 80% of men and nearly half of women experience massive hair loss during their lifetime, there are two FDA-approved drugs for men – Pattern baldness and female baldness.
But as millions around the world look for ways to slow or stop baldness, a chemical has emerged.
The key to treating baldness lies in knowing one thing: transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), according to a new UC Riverside study. The study, published in the Journal of Biophysics , identified TGF-beta — a number of small proteins called cytokines that help control Other immune system cells and blood cells – act as regulators of the hair follicle growth cycle, determining when hair follicle cells grow and when they die.
By studying hair follicles – the source of stem cells – the research also touches on regenerative medicine and proposes a model for accelerated wound healing.
“In science fiction, when characters heal quickly from injury, the idea is that stem cells allow it,” says UC Riverside mathematical biologist and co-author of the study Author Dr. Qixuan Wang said at a news conference. “In real life, our new research brings us one step closer to understanding the behavior of stem cells so that we can control it and promote wound healing.”
Rescue TGF-β
TGF- Beta’s action depends on its strength, and the researchers describe the chemical’s mechanism as a “threshold-like switch”: Too much of the chemical causes cells to die, which can lead to hair loss. At the same time, smaller doses allow cells to grow and divide.
Being able to precisely control TGF-beta levels and understanding how the chemical interacts with specific genes could allow future scientists to stimulate hair growth, according to researchers.
Your Morphing Cell
Stem cells are like blank canvases – the body can program them into other types of cells. In hair follicles, stem cells play a unique role that caught the researchers’ attention: They say the hair follicle is the only organ in the body that is constantly regenerating, even when uninjured.
“Even if a hair follicle kills itself, it doesn’t kill its stem cell pool. When surviving stem cells receive a regeneration signal, they divide, make new cells, and to breed new follicles,” Wang said.
The stark truth is that by focusing on these unique regenerative cells, researchers hope to promote complete wound healing, This requires hair regeneration.
“Maybe, our work can provide something to help people with various problems,” Wang said.
