Losing your front hair? Scientists found a new saving molecule for it. A group of researchers from the University of California, Irvine, has isolated a signaling molecule. This molecule powerfully promotes the development of hair.
It has been discovered that SCUBE3 has the potential to be used as a therapeutic alternative for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia.
Androgenetic alopecia is a kind of hair loss that affects both women and men. So researchers at the University of California, Irvine believe that a signaling molecule known as SCUBE3 has the potential to heal the condition.
This research, was just recently published in the journal Developmental Cell. It has uncovered the specific mechanism by which the dermal papilla cells, which are specialized signal-producing fibroblasts that can be found at the bottom of each hair follicle, encourage new development. Most people agree that dermal papilla cells are an important part of how hair grows. But not much is known about how genes affect the activating chemicals involved in this process.
Losing your front hair? Scientists found a new saving molecule for it.
According to Maksim Plikus, Ph.D., a professor of developmental and cell biology at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), and the study’s corresponding author, “the very same dermal papilla cells can send signals that either keep follicles dormant or trigger new hair growth at different times during the hair follicle life cycle.” “We were able to show that the SCUBE3 signaling molecule. It is naturally made by dermal papilla cells, is the message that tells neighboring hair stem cells to start dividing. This is the first step in the growth of new hair.”
It is necessary for the dermal papilla cells to create activating chemicals for both mice and humans to have successful hair development. People who have androgenetic alopecia have abnormalities in their dermal papilla cells. This leads to a significant reduction in the normally abundant activating chemicals. In order to carry out this research, a mouse model that possessed both an abnormally large amount of hair and hyperactive dermal papilla cells was developed. Researchers will be able to learn more about the regulation of hair growth with the assistance of this model.
The SCUBE3 signaling molecule
“Studying this mouse model allowed us to identify SCUBE3 as the previously unknown signaling molecule that can drive excessive hair growth,” said co-first author Yingzi Liu, a postdoctoral researcher in developmental and cell biology at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). SCUBE3 is known to play a role in the regulation of hair growth.
In subsequent tests, the hypothesis that SCUBE3 stimulates hair growth in human follicles was substantiated. The researchers microinjected SCUBE3 into the mouse skin that had human scalp follicles transplanted into it. This caused new growth to occur in the dormant human follicles as well as the mouse follicles that were surrounding them.
Christian Guerrero-Juarez, a postdoctoral researcher in mathematics at the University of California, Irvine, and co-first author of the study, stated that “these experiments provide proof-of-principle data that SCUBE3 or derived molecules can be a promising therapeutic for hair loss.”
FDA approved drugs for treating androgenetic alopecia
There are now two drugs available for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia that have received approval from the Food and Drug Administration. These treatments are finasteride and minoxidil. Only males are permitted to use the medication finasteride. Both medications have limited applicability and must be used on a daily basis in order to preserve their therapeutic efficacy.
According to Plikus, “there is a strong need for new, effective medicines to treat hair loss. Also, naturally occurring compounds that are normally used by the dermal papilla cells present ideal next-generation candidates for treatment.” The preclinical potential of SCUBE3 was successfully validated by our testing using the human hair transplant model.
On the research team were health professionals and academics from the University of California, Irvine; the University of California, San Diego; China; Japan; Korea; and Taiwan.
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Reasons why people lose their hair
Baldness that runs in the family
This particular form of hair loss is the most frequent cause of hair loss everywhere on the globe. It can affect either men or women. The condition is referred to as “male pattern hair loss” when it occurs in males. Women have female pattern hair loss. Androgenic alopecia is the name given to this condition by the medical community. This is regardless of whether it occurs in males or females.
Regardless of the word you choose, it indicates that you have inherited genes. These genes cause your hair follicles to diminish and, ultimately, cease developing hair. This can happen at any age. Although it can start as early as your teens, shrinkage often doesn’t become noticeable until much later in life.
The earliest observable indication of genetic hair loss in women is typically a general thinning of the hair or a widening of the part.
The initial indication of male pattern baldness is frequently a receding hairline or bald spot at the crown of the head. This is because male pattern baldness is typically inherited.
Age
Most people experience some degree of hair loss as they grow older. This is because the rate at which hair grows decreases with age. This causes our hair follicles to eventually stop producing new hair. Then we experience thinning of the hair on our scalp at some point in time. The color of the hair begins to go away as well. A woman’s hairline will gradually thin out and recede as she ages.
Alopecia areata
Alopecia areata is a condition that causes hair loss that occurs when the immune system of the body assaults hair follicles. That is, the structures that are responsible for holding hair in place. Any part of your body, including your scalp, the inside of your nose and your ears, is a potential area for hair loss. Some people experience thinning of their eyebrows or eyelashes.