Protease activity, localization and inhibition in the human hair follicle
October 2013
in “
International Journal of Cosmetic Science
”
TLDR The study suggests that a new protease inhibitor can make hair harder to pull out, potentially reducing hair loss.
The study investigated the role of proteases in human hair shedding by examining naturally shed hairs for protease activity and protein expression. Protease activity was confirmed in the tissue surrounding club roots, and specific serine protease proteins were localized in the hair follicle using immunohistochemistry. The researchers developed an ex vivo skin model to measure the force needed to pull hair from skin, and tested a novel protease inhibitor system (Trichogen and climbazole) on hair fibre club root extracts from various ethnic groups and both genders. The inhibitor system was found to increase the force required to remove hair, suggesting its potential to inhibit proteolytic activity and reduce excessive hair shedding.
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