Cure for Baldness?

Scientists from Southwestern Medical Centre, University of Texas discovered the cells responsible from grey hair and baldness. The team’s discovery might make it possible to develop treatments against balding and hair greying.

The article published in Genes & Development explains the gene which enables hair follicles to function properly. Lead researcher Dr. Lu Le states they discovered that a nerve development related protein called KROX20 turns on in skin cells that become the hair shaft. Researchers also said that these hair precursor cells then produce a protein called stem cell factor (SCF) essential for hair pigmentation. When the SCF was deleted from the precursors of mice used in the experiment, the animals’ hair turned white. And when the cells producing KROX20 were deleted, hair growth stopped entirely, leading to balding.

The team is now planning to investigate why baldness is more commonly seen among men, which hair cells does the KROX20 protein trigger, and why the SCF does not work properly in the elderly.

Nonetheless, it may be to soon to rejoice because scientists also add that two different sets of transcription factors might be responsible for hair growth and balding. Although there is a possibility of overlapping, defining a transcription factor that is essential for hair growth doesn’t necessarily mean the same transcription factor is responsible for balding.