Observations Suggesting a Contribution of Altered Dermal Papilla Mitochondrial Function to Androgenetic Alopecia

February 2022 in “ Experimental Dermatology ”

Elaine Chew, Tze Chwan Lim, Meng Fatt Leong, Xingliang Liu, Yee Yen Sia, Hon S. Leong, Benjamin C. Yan‐Jiang, Celine Stoecklin, Rosa Borhan, Stefanie Heilmann-Heimbach, Markus M. Nöthen, Virgile Viasnoff, Ng Shyh‐Chang, Andrew C.A. Wan, Michael P. Philpott, Axel M. Hillmer

androgenetic alopecia dermal papilla cells mitochondrial function mitochondrial reactive oxygen species electron transport chain complexes ATP levels ROS scavengers AGA DPCs mtROS ROS

TLDR Hair loss in men might be linked to changes in cell energy factories.

The document presents a study investigating the role of mitochondrial function in dermal papilla cells (DPCs) in androgenetic alopecia (AGA), a common hair loss condition in males. The researchers used DPCs derived from balding (BAB) and non-balding (BAN) male patients. They found an up-regulation of mitochondria-related genes, increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) levels, altered activity of electron transport chain complexes, decreased metabolite uptake, and decreased ATP levels in BAB. The study also found that the volume and surface area of the mitochondrial network were higher in BAB compared to BAN. These findings suggest that altered mitochondrial function in DPCs may contribute to AGA. The researchers propose that ROS scavengers could potentially be used to rescue mitochondrial function in balding DPCs.

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