Three bald mice
Scientists hope they can regenerate hair
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Thursday, 17, May 2007 12:06
Hopes for products to treat baldness have been raised after scientists discovered that hair can be regenerated in mice.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania regenerated the hair follicles in animal mice by reawakening the genes once active only in developing embryos.
For over 50 years scientists believed that adult mammal skin could not redevelop hair follicles and that hair loss is permanent.
But the latest study, published in the journal Nature, is said to provide "unequivocal evidence" for the first time that mammals do have the power to regenerate.
As well as curing baldness, scientists argue that a better understanding of this process could lead to novel treatments for skin and hair disorders and wounds.
They found that wounds reignited pathways lying dormant since the animal was an embryo, sending stem cells to the area of the injury.
"We showed that wound healing triggered an embryonic state in the skin which made it receptive to receiving instructions from wnt proteins," said senior author Dr George Cotsarelis.
Wnts are proteins linked to hair-follicle development.
"We've found that we can influence wound healing with wnts or other proteins that allow the skin to heal in a way that has less scarring and includes all the normal structures of the skin, such as hair follicles and oil glands, rather than just a scar," Dr Cotsarelis added.
They also discovered that blocking wnt proteins could stop the production of hair follicles in healed skin, providing hope for treatment for people with hair overgrowth.
Commenting on the study, Dr Vera Price, co-founder of the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, said: "This is an extremely exciting discovery and shows promise for treatment of follicular disorders such as hair loss and unwanted excess hair."