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- Sep 13, 2010
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Drug Wakes Dormant Hair Follicles
You're not bald-- you just have a lot of dormant hair follicles that
haven't been awakened yet. University of Michigan Medical Center
researchers found that rubbing a cream containing the cancer-fighting
drug Tamoxifen (trade name Novaldex) on rats just one time activated
dormant hair follicles and increased hair growth. Applying the drug
repeatedly caused the rats to produce too much hair. The treatment
worked only in mice that were genetically altered to create baldness.
Bald men have dormant follicles-- healthy, but not producing hair.
This research is exciting because it shows we may be able to wake up
these dormant follicles. (Genes Dev., 17: 1219-1224, 2003)
Genes Dev. 2003 May 15;17(10):1219-24.
Transient activation of beta -catenin signaling in cutaneous keratinocytes is sufficient to trigger the active growth phase of the hair cycle in mice.
Van Mater D, Kolligs FT, Dlugosz AA, Fearon ER.
Departments of Human Genetics, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
Wnts have key roles in many developmental processes, including hair follicle growth and differentiation. Stabilization of beta-catenin is essential in the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. We developed transgenic mice expressing a regulated form of beta-catenin in the skin. Chronic activation of beta-catenin in resting (telogen) hair follicles resulted in changes consistent with induction of an exaggerated, aberrant growth phase (anagen). Transient activation of beta-catenin produced a normal anagen. Our data lend strong support to the notion that a Wnt/beta-catenin signal operating on hair follicle precursor cells serves as a crucial proximal signal for the telogen-anagen transition.
You're not bald-- you just have a lot of dormant hair follicles that
haven't been awakened yet. University of Michigan Medical Center
researchers found that rubbing a cream containing the cancer-fighting
drug Tamoxifen (trade name Novaldex) on rats just one time activated
dormant hair follicles and increased hair growth. Applying the drug
repeatedly caused the rats to produce too much hair. The treatment
worked only in mice that were genetically altered to create baldness.
Bald men have dormant follicles-- healthy, but not producing hair.
This research is exciting because it shows we may be able to wake up
these dormant follicles. (Genes Dev., 17: 1219-1224, 2003)
Genes Dev. 2003 May 15;17(10):1219-24.
Transient activation of beta -catenin signaling in cutaneous keratinocytes is sufficient to trigger the active growth phase of the hair cycle in mice.
Van Mater D, Kolligs FT, Dlugosz AA, Fearon ER.
Departments of Human Genetics, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
Wnts have key roles in many developmental processes, including hair follicle growth and differentiation. Stabilization of beta-catenin is essential in the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. We developed transgenic mice expressing a regulated form of beta-catenin in the skin. Chronic activation of beta-catenin in resting (telogen) hair follicles resulted in changes consistent with induction of an exaggerated, aberrant growth phase (anagen). Transient activation of beta-catenin produced a normal anagen. Our data lend strong support to the notion that a Wnt/beta-catenin signal operating on hair follicle precursor cells serves as a crucial proximal signal for the telogen-anagen transition.