Topical Application of Anti-Cancer Drug Bortezomib Stimulates Proliferation of Follicular Cells and Induces Expression of Hair Keratins via GATA-3 Transcription Factor
TLDR Applying the anti-cancer drug Bortezomib to skin can promote hair growth and increase hair proteins through the GATA-3 factor.
The document from May 01, 2016, describes a study where the anti-cancer drug Bortezomib (BZ) was applied topically to mouse skin and was found to stimulate the proliferation of hair follicle and sebaceous gland cells, rather than inhibiting growth or causing cell death. This led to an increase in the pilosebaceous unit size. The study showed that BZ caused a significant up-regulation of genes related to hair keratins and keratin-associated proteins, which was linked to the transcription factor GATA-3, a known regulator of hair development. GATA-3 was found to have multiple binding sites on the promoters of these genes, and BZ treatment increased GATA-3 protein levels in the skin. The findings suggest that BZ, and potentially other proteasome inhibitors, could be used as a new category of hair growth-promoting agents.
