Senile Hair Graying: H2O2-Mediated Oxidative Stress Affects Human Hair Color by Blunting Methionine Sulfoxide Repair

    February 2009 in “ The FASEB Journal ”
    John M. Wood, Heinz Decker, H. Hartmann, Bhaven Chavan, Hartmut Rokos, Jennifer Spencer, Sybille Hasse, M. Julie Thornton, Mohammad Shalbaf, Ralf Paus, K. U. Schallreuter
    TLDR Gray hair is caused by hydrogen peroxide buildup, which damages hair color repair.
    The study demonstrated that senile hair graying was associated with the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in gray/white hair shafts, leading to oxidative stress. This oxidative stress resulted in the almost complete absence of catalase and methionine sulfoxide reductase A and B proteins, impairing the repair of methionine sulfoxide (Met-S=O) in the hair follicle. The oxidation of methionine residues, including Met 374 in tyrosinase, reduced the enzyme's functionality, contributing to the loss of hair color. The research suggested that H2O2-induced oxidative damage affected the entire hair follicle, not just melanocytes, and proposed that preventing Met oxidation with L-methionine could offer new strategies for reversing hair graying.
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