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posted by martyb on Wednesday August 16 2017, @02:02PM   Printer-friendly
from the good-news-for-the-follically-challenged dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

UCLA researchers have discovered a new way to activate the stem cells in the hair follicle to make hair grow. The research, led by scientists Heather Christofk and William Lowry, may lead to new drugs that could promote hair growth for people with baldness or alopecia, which is hair loss associated with such factors as hormonal imbalance, stress, aging or chemotherapy treatment.

The research was published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

[...] Cellular metabolism involves the breakdown of the nutrients needed for cells to divide, make energy and respond to their environment. The process of metabolism uses enzymes that alter these nutrients to produce "metabolites." As hair follicle stem cells consume the nutrient glucose -- a form of sugar -- from the bloodstream, they process the glucose to eventually produce a metabolite called pyruvate. The cells then can either send pyruvate to their mitochondria -- the part of the cell that creates energy -- or can convert pyruvate into another metabolite called lactate.

"Our observations about hair follicle stem cell metabolism prompted us to examine whether genetically diminishing the entry of pyruvate into the mitochondria would force hair follicle stem cells to make more lactate, and if that would activate the cells and grow hair more quickly," said Christofk, an associate professor of biological chemistry and molecular and medical pharmacology.

The research team first blocked the production of lactate genetically in mice and showed that this prevented hair follicle stem cell activation. Conversely, in collaboration with the Rutter lab at University of Utah, they increased lactate production genetically in the mice and this accelerated hair follicle stem cell activation, increasing the hair cycle.

"Before this, no one knew that increasing or decreasing the lactate would have an effect on hair follicle stem cells," said Lowry, a professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology. "Once we saw how altering lactate production in the mice influenced hair growth, it led us to look for potential drugs that could be applied to the skin and have the same effect."

The team identified two drugs that, when applied to the skin of mice, influenced hair follicle stem cells in distinct ways to promote lactate production. The first drug, called RCGD423, activates a cellular signaling pathway called JAK-Stat, which transmits information from outside the cell to the nucleus of the cell. The research showed that JAK-Stat activation leads to the increased production of lactate and this in turn drives hair follicle stem cell activation and quicker hair growth. The other drug, called UK5099, blocks pyruvate from entering the mitochondria, which forces the production of lactate in the hair follicle stem cells and accelerates hair growth in mice.

[...] The experimental drugs described above were used in preclinical tests only and have not been tested in humans or approved by the Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective for use in humans.

Journal Reference: Aimee Flores, John Schell, Abigail S. Krall, David Jelinek, Matilde Miranda, Melina Grigorian, Daniel Braas, Andrew C. White, Jessica L. Zhou, Nicholas A. Graham, Thomas Graeber, Pankaj Seth, Denis Evseenko, Hilary A. Coller, Jared Rutter, Heather R. Christofk, William E. Lowry. Lactate dehydrogenase activity drives hair follicle stem cell activation. Nature Cell Biology, 2017; DOI: 10.1038/ncb3575


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