Implicating Wnt/ β-catenin Signaling in Age-Related Hair Graying

Researchers here report their evidence for increased Wnt signaling in hair follicles and skin in older mice to be implicated in the age-related graying of hair. They demonstrate accelerated hair graying through gene therapy to increase Wnt signaling in these cell populations, considering that it produces exhaustion in the cell populations responsible for hair pigmentation. It remains to be seen as to whether the reverse effect can be produced via suppression of this pathway in older animals. Aging is a physiological process associated with progressive structural and functional declines of tissues and organs. The hair follicle is a mini-organ that undergoes repetitive cyclic regeneration, thus supplying an excellent model for aging-associated disorders. Typical hair follicle aging phenotypes can be observed but not limited to several signs, such as irreversible hair loss, hair thinning and graying. Regenerative hair cycling process in a single hair follicle consists of three consecutive phases including growth phase (anagen), regression phase (catagen) and resting phase (telogen). Hair stem cell
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs