Researchers from Harvard University in the United States reveal, in a study published on March 21 in the journal Nature, how stress can have an impact on hair growth. They thus identified a mechanism by which stress affects hair follicle stem cells.
Stress hormones affect hair follicle stem cells
After demonstrating in a previous study that stress can promote hair bleaching, researchers from Harvard University in the United States reveal this time how stress can have an impact on hair growth. To do this, the scientists carried out analyzes on laboratory mice by studying how corticosterone (a hormone released during times of stress) influences hair growth.
Published on March 21, 2021 in the journal Nature, the results of the work show that when corticosterone levels are high, hair follicles (the skin cavities responsible for hair growth) remain in a prolonged resting phase while they should normally alternate between a period of rest and a period of growth. In addition, stress hormones disrupt stem cells in the skin cavities in which hair grows. Conversely, they found that in the absence of corticosterone, hair follicle stem cells regenerate and new hair growth is activated.
Towards new treatments for hair loss?
By identifying the mechanism by which stress affects hair follicle stem cells, researchers are paving the way for possible treatments, explains Rui Yi, researcher at Northwestern University ” These findings provide the basis for exploring treatments for hair loss caused by chronic stress. “.
This is because corticosterone has been shown to inhibit the activation of hair follicle stem cells by suppressing the production of a protein called GAS6. However, this protein promotes the proliferation of these stem cells in the absence of corticosterone. In other words, restoring GAS6 expression could overcome stress-induced inhibition and promote hair growth regeneration.
