Human Scalp Hair Follicles Are Both a Target and a Source of Prolactin, which Serves as an Autocrine and/or Paracrine Promoter of Apoptosis-Driven Hair Follicle Regression
March 2006
in “American Journal of Pathology”
TLDR Prolactin contributes to hair loss by promoting hair follicle shrinkage and cell death.
The 2006 study investigated the role of prolactin (PRL) in human scalp hair follicle biology, involving 180 hair follicles from 12 individuals aged 25 to 55 years. It was discovered that hair follicles express PRL and its receptors, particularly during the growth phase, and that PRL levels increase during the transition to the regression phase. High-dose PRL treatment inhibited hair shaft elongation and induced premature regression, with decreased proliferation and increased apoptosis of hair bulb keratinocytes. These findings suggest that PRL may contribute to hair loss in conditions like hyperprolactinemia and could be implicated in the pathogenesis of androgenetic alopecia in females, acting as a modulator of hair growth with catagen-promoting functions.
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