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 ”

Kerstin Foitzik, Karoline Krause, Franziska Conrad, Motonobu Nakamura, Wolfang Funk, Ralf Paus

prolactin PRL hair follicle apoptosis hair follicle regression hair shaft elongation hair bulb keratinocytes hyperprolactinemia androgenetic alopecia catagen hair loss hair growth hair thinning

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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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

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research Prolactin and Its Receptor Are Expressed in Murine Hair Follicle Epithelium, Show Hair Cycle-Dependent Expression, and Induce Catagen

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research Androgen-Inducible TGF-β1 from Balding Dermal Papilla Cells Inhibits Epithelial Cell Growth: A Clue to Understanding Paradoxical Effects of Androgen on Human Hair Growth

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