Scientists have expanded the list of "baldness genes"

Denis Strigun, Naked Science

British scientists conducted a large-scale genetic analysis and found more than 250 independent loci associated with male pattern baldness. The results of the work are published in the journal PLoS Genetics (Hagenaars et al., Genetic prediction of male pattern baldness).

According to statistics, baldness affects about 80 percent of men under the age of 80. It is known that the phenomenon can affect self-perception, as well as increase the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. At the same time, baldness is a 50 percent inherited trait: past genetic studies have revealed 15 loci associated with hair loss.

However, existing models of baldness (based on the assessment of single-nucleotide polymorphisms) are able to explain about 4.5 percent of cases. To clarify the genetic basis of the phenomenon, scientists from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Southampton conducted a genome-wide association search (GWAS) between samples of 52,874 white Britons with an average age of 57.2 years.

The data was obtained from the country's Biobank. According to the analysis, 31.6 percent of participants reported no signs of baldness, 68.4 percent reported hair loss of varying severity. In total, the authors found 287 independent loci associated with the trait. 13,029 matches were autosomal in nature, while 117 were associated with the X chromosome inherited from the mother.

Among the most influential scientists identified 20 autosomal connections and ten connections with the X chromosome. Among the first, in particular, they attributed single-nucleotide polymorphisms of C1orf127, FGF5, EBF1, NSF and other genes. According to the authors, many of the genes found determine the specifics of hair growth and structure, and in the future these data can be used in the prognosis and treatment of baldness.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  16.02.2017