Bone Morphogenetic Proteins Are Critical Factors for Hair Follicle Epithelial-Mesenchymal Interactions in Androgenetic Alopecia
September 2017
in “
Journal of Investigative Dermatology
”
TLDR BMPs are crucial for hair growth and their decrease by androgens leads to hair loss.
This study found that bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) play a critical role in hair follicle epithelial-mesenchymal interactions in androgenetic alopecia (AGA). Androgens cause deregulation of factors involved in normal hair follicle stem cell differentiation, and BMPs act on dermal papilla cells (DPC) to maintain hair-inducing activity. The downregulation of BMPs by androgens contributes to AGA development. The study suggests that BMPs are important factors in the complex interactions that contribute to hair inductivity and hair follicle stem cell differentiation.