ISX9, a Small Molecule Targeting Axin, Activates Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling and Promotes Hair Regrowth

August 2022

Sapna Sayed, Jiaxing Song, Ling Wang, Boxin Liu, Zijie Su, Huan Li, Vivian Weiwen Xue, Shanshan Liu, Xianxiong Chen, Guangqian Zhou, Qi Sun, Desheng Lu

ISX9 Wnt/β-catenin signaling Axin1 LRP6 β-catenin hair follicle telogen anagen alopecia hair regrowth hair loss hair cycle hair growth phase

TLDR ISX9 helps regrow hair by activating a specific cell signaling pathway.

The study identified ISX9 as a novel agonist of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, which targeted Axin1 and enhanced the LRP6-Axin1 interaction, leading to the stabilization of β-catenin and upregulation of Wnt target and stemness marker genes. The topical application of ISX9 significantly promoted hair regrowth in C57BL/6J mice by inducing hair follicle transition from telogen to anagen through the enhancement of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. These findings suggested that ISX9 could be a promising therapeutic agent for alopecia treatment.

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