Hairless Triggers Reactivation of Hair Growth by Promoting Wnt Signaling
September 2005
in “
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
”
TLDR The HR protein helps hair grow by blocking a hair growth inhibitor, aiding in hair follicle regeneration.
The document from 2005 explored the function of the Hairless (Hr) gene in hair follicle regeneration. It was found that the HR protein, produced by this gene, plays a role in promoting hair growth by enhancing Wnt signaling, which is essential for hair follicle regeneration. HR was shown to act as a corepressor that represses the expression of Wise, a Wnt signaling inhibitor. In HR-deficient mice, Wise expression increased, leading to hair loss, while in transgenic mice with restored HR function, Wise expression decreased, allowing for hair growth. The study concluded that HR promotes hair growth by repressing Wise at the correct time during the hair cycle, thus enabling the activation of Wnt signaling necessary for hair follicle regeneration. The number of mice used in the study was not specified.