Potential Cure for Baldness: Discovery of Chemical Controlling Life and Death in Hair Follicles


Discoveries Might Put an End to Baldness and Hasten Healing
Researchers have found that a particular molecule plays a crucial role in regulating the division and death of hair follicle cells. Because follicles are a source of stem cells, this discovery might potentially hasten wound healing in addition to helping cure baldness.

The majority of cells in the human body have fixed forms and functions that are established during embryonic development. For instance, a blood cell cannot transform into a nerve cell and vice versa. But stem cells can differentiate into other kinds of cells, much like the empty Scrabble tiles.

Because of their versatility, stem cells are useful for healing damaged organs or tissue.

In science fiction, protagonists that recover swiftly from injuries are supposed to have stem cells to thank for this, according to Qixuan Wang, a mathematical biologist and research co-author from the University of California, Riverside.

Our latest findings bring us one step closer to controlling stem cell activity in order to accelerate wound healing, according to Wang. In a recent paper in the Biophysical Journal, this finding is described in depth.

The liver and stomach renew themselves in response to injuries. Hair follicles are the only organ in humans that regenerates naturally and regularly, even without injury, therefore Wang's study team focused on them.
The researchers uncovered how the protein TGF-beta regulates how stem cells and other cells, including those in hair follicles, divide to create new cells or plan their own demise, ultimately causing the death of the whole hair follicle.

TGF-beta performs two distinct functions. It aids in reviving certain hair follicle cells and later aids in orchestrating the process of cell death known as apoptosis, according to Wang.

Like with many substances, the concentration determines how things turn out. Cell division is triggered by a particular level of TGF-beta produced by the cell. Apoptosis is brought on by an excess of it.

Nobody is absolutely certain of the cause of hair follicle suicide. Some theories claim that it is an inherited feature from animals who shed their fur to withstand the scorching summer months or in an effort to blend in.

"A hair follicle never destroys its reserve of stem cells, even when it kills itself. When the remaining stem cells are instructed to split and create new cells, they grow into a new follicle, according to Wang.

It may be feasible to activate follicle stem cells and increase hair development if scientists can more accurately pinpoint how TGF-beta drives cell division and interacts with other crucial genes.

Perfect wound healing would necessitate the regeneration of hair follicles since many animals, including humans, have skin covered with hair. The ability to more precisely regulate TGF-beta levels may perhaps one day be used to treat the millions of individuals worldwide who suffer from baldness.
Potentially, our findings might provide assistance to those dealing with a range of issues, according to Wang.

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