Hope for balding
On the skin of the animal group control hair growth is absent (left), in contrast to skin treated with the drug UK5099 where hair growth is clearly visible.
Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles, working under the guidance of associate Professor Heather Crestfall (Heather Christofk) and Professor William Lowry (William Lowry), proposed a new method of activation of stem cells of hair follicles, providing hair growth. These data can provide the appearance of new drugs for the treatment of hair loss caused by factors such as hormonal balance, stress, aging or chemotherapy.
Stem cells of the hair follicles represent a long-lived cells that produce hair throughout a person's life. These cells in the normal state are "sleeping", that is inactive, but quickly aktiviziruyutsya at the beginning of a new growth cycle of the hair. The quiescent state of stem cells of hair follicles is regulated by many factors. In certain circumstances, they cannot be activated, which leads to deterioration in the quality of hair.
The authors found that the metabolism of stem cells of hair follicles differs from the metabolism of other skin cells. Cellular metabolism involves the breakdown of nutrients necessary for cell division, energy production, and response to the impact of environmental factors. Metabolism involves enzymes that break down nutrients to simpler connections. When the stem cells of hair follicles absorb from the blood glucose, they break down to its metabolite, known as pyruvate. Next, the cells can send pyruvate into the mitochondria for further breakdown to receive a large amount of energy or converted to a different metabolite lactate.
Monitor the metabolism of stem cells of hair follicles brought the authors to the idea to test whether suppression of receipt of pyruvate inside the mitochondria to increase the production of lactate and provide you activate cells and accelerate hair growth.
First, they in experiments on mice blocked the production of lactate at the genetic level and demonstrated that it fully prevented the activation of stem cells of hair follicles. In contrast, the increased production of lactate increased activation of these cells and stimulated the growth of hair.
After that, the authors have identified 2 products that when applied to the skin of mice with different mechanisms influenced the stem cells of hair follicles. One of the drugs – RCGD423 – activated cellular signaling pathway known as JAK-Stat. This mechanism transmits information from extracellular environment to the cell nucleus. Researchers have demonstrated that the activation of the JAK-Stat leads to increased production of lactate, which in turn initiates the activation of stem cells of hair follicles and accelerates hair growth. The second drug – UK5099 – blocks the penetration of pyruvate inside the mitochondria that triggers his forced conversion to lactate in the cytoplasm of stem cells, which also accelerates the growth of hair.
However, the application of these experimental drugs in clinical practice is still very early to talk, as they were used only in experiments on mice and did not pass clinical trials.
Article Aimee Flores et al. Lactate dehydrogenase activity drives hair follicle stem cell activation is published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.
Eugene Ryabtsev
The portal of "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru on materials of the University of California, Los Angeles: UCLA scientists identify a new way to activate stem cells to make hair grow.
07.09.2017