Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1α Promotes Trichogenic Gene Expression in Human Dermal Papilla Cells

The study found that Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), a key transcription factor, is crucial for hair growth and is downregulated in patients with androgenetic alopecia (AGA), a common form of hair loss. Silencing HIF-1α repressed the expression of hair growth-related genes in dermal papilla cells (DPCs), which are key cells in hair follicles. Three-dimensionally cultured DPCs showed higher levels of HIF-1α, and silencing HIF-1α in these cells also suppressed hair growth gene expression. The study also found that sildenafil, a HIF-1α activator, promoted the expression of hair growth genes in DPCs. This suggests that HIF-1α could be a potential therapeutic target for treating hair loss.