It isn’t so black and white
It is grey and often considered a nuisance. It’s not a mouse, but something perhaps more troublesome – grey hair. Have you ever wondered why the greying of hair occurs? A new study by researchers at New York University Langone Medical Centre has shown, for the first time, ‘Wnt signalling’, already known to control many biological processes between hair follicles and melanocyte stem cells, can dictate hair pigmentation.
It is grey and often considered a nuisance. It’s not a mouse, but something perhaps more troublesome – grey hair.
Have you ever wondered why the greying of hair occurs? A new study by researchers at New York University Langone Medical Centre has shown, for the first time, ‘Wnt signalling’, already known to control many biological processes between hair follicles and melanocyte stem cells, can dictate hair pigmentation.
The study suggests the manipulation of Wnt signalling may be a novel strategy for targeting pigmentation such as greying hair.
Using genetic mouse models, researchers were able to examine how Wnt signalling pathways enabled both hair follicle stem cells and melanocyte stem cells to work together to generate hair growth and produce hair colour.
Research also showed abnormal Wnt signalling in hair follicle stem cells not only inhibits hair re-growth but also prevents melanocytes stem cell activation required for producing hair colour. The lack of Wnt activation in melanocyte stem cells leads to grey hair.
The research was led by Mayumi Ito, PhD, assistant professor in the Ronald Pereleman Department of Dermatology at NYU Langone.
“We have known for decades that hair follicle stem cells and pigment-producing melanocyte cells collaborate to produce coloured hair, but the underlying reasons were unknown,” Dr Ito said.
The research study also illustrated a model for tissue regeneration.
“The human body has many types of stem cells that have the potential to regenerate other organs,” Dr Ito said.
The study raises the possibility that Wnt signalling is a key pathway for the regulation of melanocyte stem cells and shows how melanocyte behaviour is associated with hair regeneration. This insight provides further understanding of diseases in which melanocytes are either appropriately lost, such as hair greying or undergo uncontrolled cell growth as in melanoma.
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