Researchers have been investigating how stem cells create new hair for a number of years. A recent study published in the journal PNAS has made a breakthrough and shed some light on how hair filaments are created.

Adult tissue stem cells (SCs) are typically used by the body when it needs to repair or maintain itself. For example, adult skin stem cells are constantly undergoing cellular divisions for maintenance and to repair injuries.

However, some adult tissue stem cells only engage when the body sends them certain signals. Hair cells are one such example — they will sit dormant in some cases. Scientists who have been attempting to understand how stem cells create new hair have been looking for those signals.

This latest study claims to have discovered how stem cells create new hair and suggests it is related to a protein called BMP and some cellular processes surrounding it. The researchers noticed that older mice secrete BMP from the fat in their skin. They believed this secretion caused hair follicles to become dormant and to stop producing new hair.

But what was allowing this protein to stop hair growth and was there any way to prevent it? Scientists looked at a key transcription factor called Forkhead box C1 (FOXC1), which plays a role in determining how often hair grows. That noticed that not only did the non-responsive hair follicles have additional BMP, FOXC1 was not allowing hair follicles to function correctly. 

By knocking out the FOXC1 gene, researchers were able to re-engage stem cells and drive hair growth in older mice. The mice grew hair very quickly — up to seven times faster than mice who did not receive the treatment. This breakthrough may soon allow people around the world to enjoy a full head of hair again!

Source: New Research Shows How Stem Cells Create New Hair

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