Emerging Diagnostic and Therapeutic Potentials of Human Hair Proteomics

September 2017 in “ Proteomics. Clinical applications ”

Henry Ademola Adeola, Jennifer C. Van Wyk, Afolake Arowolo, Reginald M Ngwanya, Kwezikazi Mkentane, Nonhlanhla P. Khumalo

human hair proteomics diagnostics therapeutics drug compliance forensic toxicology biomarker discovery hair lipid content hair growth rates protein-based identification human hair proteome DNA profiling disease-specific proteomes

TLDR Hair protein analysis could improve medical testing and understanding of hair characteristics.

The review discussed the emerging potential of human hair proteomics in diagnostics and therapeutics, highlighting its noninvasive nature and ability to monitor long-term drug compliance, chronic alcohol abuse, forensic toxicology, and biomarker discovery. Despite its promise, the field had been underutilized, with limited studies on drug incorporation based on hair lipid content, hair growth rates, forms, and the effects of grooming or bleaching. The authors emphasized that protein-based identification using the human hair proteome could significantly advance understanding of these parameters, similar to DNA profiling. The review identified research gaps and discussed the potential of hair proteomics in creating a historical medical repository of normal and disease-specific proteomes.

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