Human Hairless Protein Roles in Skin and Hair and Emerging Connections to Brain and Other Cancers
May 2017
in “
Journal of Cellular Biochemistry
”
TLDR The hairless protein is important for skin, hair, and may influence cancer development.
The study explored the roles of the mammalian hairless protein (HR), a 130 kDa nuclear transcription factor, in skin and hair follicle function, as well as its expression in the brain and other tissues. HR was found to interact with nuclear receptors for vitamin D and thyroid hormone, potentially influencing DNA binding, histone demethylation, and protein interactions. Nearly 200 HR mutations were identified in various cancers, suggesting a role in cancer cell growth and survival. The study highlighted HR's potential involvement in carcinogenesis through histone demethylase activity and interactions with p53 pathways. The review summarized HR's bioactions, its mutations' contributions to alopecia and cancer, and proposed future research directions.