A Genome-Wide Association Study Identified a Genetic Variant Associated With Hair Thinning in Japanese Women
March 2023
in “
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology
”
TLDR A genetic variant linked to hair thinning in Japanese women was found.
A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) involved in hair thinning in Japanese women. The study involved 1040 women aged 21–95 years and identified rs2419385 as a SNP with the strongest signal associated with hair thinning. When the analysis was performed on middle-aged women (926 women aged 30–69 years), rs2419385 still fulfilled the genome-wide significance level. Genes near rs2419385, including clathrin interactor 1 (CLINT1) and tRNA-histidine guanylyltransferase 1 like (THG1L), were suggested to be involved in the expression of rs2419385. Both genes have been suggested to play a role in transforming growth factor beta signaling, which is known to negatively regulate hair growth. Future studies are needed to investigate the roles of these genes in hair thinning in more detail.