Do Hair Bulb Melanocytes Undergo Apoptosis During Hair Follicle Regression (Catagen)?
December 1998
in “
The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology
”
hair follicle melanocytes apoptosis catagen anagen-catagen transition C57BL/6 mice dexamethasone cyclophosphamide keratinocyte melanocyte incontinence ectopic melanin distribution hair follicle melanocytes cell death catagen hair growth cycle dexamethasone cyclophosphamide skin cells melanin distribution
TLDR Hair follicle melanocytes die during hair regression.
The study investigated the fate of hair follicle melanocytes during the anagen-catagen transition in C57BL/6 mice, finding that melanocytes undergo apoptosis during both spontaneous and pharmacologically induced catagen. Apoptosis was more frequent in dexamethasone-induced catagen, while cyclophosphamide-induced catagen showed severe melanocyte incontinence and ectopic melanin distribution. The results suggested that apoptosis contributes to the loss of melanogenic melanocytes during catagen, with different catagen models providing insights into hair pigmentation and melanocyte response to chemical injury.
