An Analysis of Gene Expression Data Involving Examination of Signaling Pathways Activation Reveals New Insights into the Mechanism of Action of Minoxidil Topical Foam in Men with Androgenetic Alopecia

June 2017 in “ Cell Cycle ”

Georgios N. Stamatas, Jeff Wu, Apostolos Pappas, Paradi Mirmirani, Thomas S. McCormick, Kevin D. Cooper, Mary C. Consolo, Jane Schastnaya, Ivan V. Ozerov, Alexander Aliper, Alex Zhavoronkov

minoxidil androgenetic alopecia gene expression signaling pathways keratin-associated proteins ILK Akt MAPK non-coding RNAs hair follicles Rogaine AGA MTF

Studysummary This study observed that 5% minoxidil topical foam alters gene expression and signaling pathways in the scalp, providing insights into its mechanism of action in men with androgenetic alopecia. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

This document is a scientific paper from 5 years ago that analyzes the effects of minoxidil topical foam (MTF) on gene expression and activation of signaling pathways in men with androgenetic alopecia (AGA). The study found that both frontal and vertex scalp regions showed upregulation of genes that encode keratin-associated proteins and downregulation of ILK, Akt, and MAPK signaling pathways after MTF treatment. The study also identified dysregulated transcripts in the vertex and frontal scalp of responders after MTF treatment, including upregulation of keratin associated proteins and downregulation of various coding genes and non-coding RNAs. The study provides new insights into the molecular signatures of hair follicles in patients with AGA and their response to MTF treatment.

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