Molecular Hair Regrowth
Below is an article that I attached which discusses chemicals like LEF-1 and sonic hedgehog as ways to create robust hair growth. Yet it frustrates me SO MUCH that no one is testing these chemicals to create hair growth in humans. Instead we have ineffective shit like TRX-2 and yanking hair from the sides and the back and re-inserting it into the front. All accompanied with a nice ear-to-ear scar. Check out the article below.
New Research
An editorial on the future of hair loss - molecular signaling
We’ve probably gone as far as we can
or should in reducing the DHT in the scalp to combat DHT. What new direction can we take in
developing alternative medications for treating MPB? This editorial covers one of the newer
technologies on the horizon...
Molecular Signaling - the Future of Hair Loss Treatment?
Dr. Richard Lee
You probably recall that during embryological development of the hair follicles, there was
communication between the ectoderm (top layers of the skin) and the underlying mesoderm. The
cells in the mesoderm signal the overlying ectoderm to make an appendage. In response, the
ectoderm cells organize, proliferate and invade the mesoderm, becoming an elongated structure
called a hair germ, which eventually forms the hair follicle and produces hair. Alone among all
the organs of the body, the hair follicle recreates itself 10 to 20 times during your lifetime. What
if we could understand how the communication, i.e. the molecular signaling, took place between
the layers of the skin? There is a lot of ongoing work to isolate and identify the molecules
involved in molecular signaling. The implications are wonderful. What if we had control of
telling the stem cells to begin anagen (growth phase) or to stay in anagen or even to produce a
new follicle?
Here’s a simplified version of a type of molecular signaling: often a cell will initiate a behavior,
such as making new proteins, after a molecule from the outside binds to a receptor on the cell
surface and triggers a cascade of molecular interactions within the cell. These signaling cascades
frequently lead to the activation of specific genes in the nucleus, resulting in the production of
new proteins.
Within the past few years, Elaine Fuchs and her colleagues at the University of Chicago have
discovered that the dermal papilla’s signals probably convey their directives largely by activating
still other signaling molecules---members of the Wnt family of proteins.
12200208.jpg
Dr. Richard Lee
Dr. Lee obtained his degree in medicine from the University of Pittsburgh, and has founded and
operated one of the few private medical practices devoted entirely to the research and treatment
of hair loss.. "Regrowth" was incorporated in 1987, and continues to provide custom minoxidil
and topical spironolactone solutions which can be very helpful additions to any proven treatment
regimen. Dr. Lee is a respected member of the ************ Community, and one of the few
physicians truly educated on the causes and treatments of hair loss.
Subsequent experiments confirmed that Wnt is the mesodermal signal that instructs the overlying
ectoderm to begin forming an appendage and is likewise the ectodermal signal that tells the
underlying mesoderm to form the dermal papilla. After development of the hair follicle, Wnt
appears to be the message that directs matrix cells above the dermal papilla to differentiate into
- 1 -
TITLE: ::A New Approach OE Molecular Signaling :: ************.com :: ************ News Center||A New Approach OE Molecular Signaling :: ************.com :: ************ News Center ************.com
hair cells.
Perhaps the most dramatic evidence for the central importance of Wnts was the creation of mice
that, after birth, could not degrade beta-catenin in their epidermal cells. The inability to destroy
beta-catenin made the cells behave as if they were constantly receiving a Wnt signal. These mice
grew an unusually lush furry coat by forming new hair follicles between the ones that were
formed during embryonic development.
I want Wnt! Or do I...
That’s really "WOW!" So, why don’t we rub our scalps with Wnt? As these furry mice aged,
they grew benign lumps in their skin that resembled a common human scalp tumor called
pilotricoma. But, if we learn to deliver Wnt in a pattern that mimics nature or if we can
manipulate other steps in the Wnt signaling cascade, we may have a way to correct disorders of
the hair, including MPB.
In 1995 Elaine Fuchs’ group discovered that a regulatory protein called lymphocyte enhancer
factor 1 (LEF1) participated in activating the hair keratin genes. This lymphocyte enhancer factor
1 was also found to be present during hair follicle formation in the embryo. Presumably on orders
from some outside signal, LEF1 became active and helped to turn on genes needed for follicle
formation or hair growth. And when Fuch’s team engineered mice that produced excess LEF1 in
the skin, the animals produced more hair follicles than normal. Rudy Grosshedl at the University
of California at San Francisco, which showed that without LEF1, mice fail to make a furry coat
at all.
Other proteins have been identified in the molecular signaling scheme. One by the name of ’sonic
hedgehog’ could be particularly crucial for hair growth. Although sonic hedgehog is not
necessary for formation of the hair germ, it is necessary for subsequent conversion of the germ to
a full-fledged follicle. Two years ago, Ronald Crystal at Cornell University found that when hair
follicles in adult mice are induced to make the protein during the telogen phase, the follicles shift
prematurely into the anagen phase. Thus, sonic hedgehog can stimulate dormant follicles to begin
producing hair.
But another caution: Too much signaling by the sonic hedgehog molecule results in basal cell
carcinomas in humans.
Obviously, there is a lot of work to be done before signaling proteins can be used as a treatment
for MPB. But the information is exciting and the future is very promising in this field of research.
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Originally Posted by DepressedByHairLoss
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