Researchers at the University of California have potentially found a method that could treat age-related hair loss and androgenetic alopecia. According to the study, a molecular combination found in skin moles could rejuvenate hair growth in dormant normal follicles by signaling them to increase activity.
Published on June 21, the study delves into the essential role that osteopontin and CD44 molecules play in activating hair growth inside hairy skin nevi, otherwise known as moles and birthmarks.
“These skin nevi accumulate particularly large numbers of senescent pigment cells, and yet display very robust hair growth,” according to the university. Senescent cells are those that have stopped dividing—a kind of arrest commonly associated with aging.
“Further detailed analysis of senescent pigment cells and the nearby hair stem cells revealed that the former produced high levels of osteopontin, for which hair stem cells had a matching receptor molecule called CD44. Upon molecular interaction between osteopontin and CD44, hair stem cells became activated, resulting in robust hair growth.”
Although osteopontin is not traditionally associated with hair growth, it plays an essential role in the skin of hairy moles.
Lead corresponding author Maksim Plikus, UCI professor of developmental and cell biology, believes hair regeneration could be achieved by needling the molecule into the scalps of balding men and women to reawaken hair follicles that have gone dormant. The method is said to be similar to a Botox injection, with virtually no pain involved.
Clinical trials on humans are set to commence this summer. The technique has already been successfully tested on mice.
Osteopontin’s Hair-Growth Potential
Plikus said he’s aware that many people view their hairy moles as a nuisance, and often resort to plucking them or shaving them off. Plikus and his colleagues saw the potential in such prolific hair growth, however.
Plikus believes that injections of osteopontin could reactivate old follicles that have stopped producing hair, effectively leading to the regrowth of bald spots in ageing people.
“There’s these essential signaling molecules that a teenager’s hairs would be producing in large quantities,” he said, as reported by Insider.
Large amounts of the molecules are created by senescent cells, which are sometimes referred to as ‘zombie cells’ due to the adverse effects they have on ageing bodies by contributing to inflammation. However, Plikus believes such cells function differently for hair, and can stimulate abundant hair growth.
“Although broad accumulation of senescent cells, such as upon ageing or genotoxic stress, is detrimental for the regenerative capacity of tissue, we show that signalling by senescent cell clusters can potently enhance the activity of adjacent intact stem cells and stimulate tissue renewal,” according to the researchers.
However, Plikus is not at all concerned about the scalp of patients treated with osteopontin turning into veritable mole fields, as osteopontin isn’t the only factor that drives mole generation.
Effectively, the original hair features, including color and texture, will remain unchanged due to their already being present within the follicle.
“It will grow like you remember it when you were 18, it would not grow like thickened, wiry armpit hair. This burst of molecules is shown to hair follicles on a scalp, and they’re like, ‘Oh, OK. Time to grow!'” said Plikus.
The research could mark a turning point in hair-loss treatment, a condition scientists have been trying to treat for decades—but which has yielded very limited results.
Currently, only two widely used treatments are moderately effective in treating hair loss—both of which were discovered accidentally. These medicines are called Rogaine and Propecia. However, the treatments still only have limited efficacy and are not suitable for some people, according to Insider.
California-based biotech company Amplifica, of which Plikus is a founding member, is set to start trials on the new method in the coming weeks.
The treatment will likely consist of a combination of osteopontin and other hair-stimulating proteins recently discovered by the research team. Its application could follow a similar process to the administration of Botox—by micro-needling the molecules around hair follicles in the scalp.
